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FORT    DEARBORN. 


.  JOHN  WENT  WORTH,  L  L.  D. 


THIRD  PAPER. 


FERGUS    PRINTING    COMPANY,    CHICAGO. 


REYNOLDS'    HISTORY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

My  Own  Times;    Embracing  also  The  History  of  My  Life.     By  JOHN   REYNOLDS,  Late 

Gov.  of  111.,  etc.     Portrait.     Reprint  of  original  edition  of  1855,  with  complete  Index  added.     Cloth  boards; 
Gilt-top;  Side  and  bottom  uncut;  Antique  Paper;  Pp  42^;  8vo.     1879.     Edition  of  112  copies.    Price,  $7.50. 


We  are  pleased'  to  learn  that  the  Fergus  Print- 
ing Company  has  undertaken  the  work  oi  re- 
printing the  volume  of  "My  Own  Times:  embrac- 
ing also  the  History  of  My  Life,"  written  by  the 
late  Gov.  John  Reynolds.  *  *  "  *  Copies  of 
the  volume  referred  to  are  exceedingly  rare,  and 
hardly  could  be  procured  at  any  price.  The 
Publishers  are  deserving  of  thanks  for  their 
efforts  to  rescue  from  oblivion  a  meritorious 
work  like  the  above.— Belleville  Advocate,  Dec. 
12,  1879. 

This  is  a  reproduction,  in  an  attractive  form, 
and  with  the  addition  of  a  full  index,  of  a  book, 
the  story  of  which  is  an  illustration  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  all  who  have  devoted  themselves 
to  historical  investigation  have  had  to  encounter 
in  this  country.  Governor  Reynolds  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  figures  in  western  public 
life,  and  it  would  be  supposed  this  epitome  of 
the  story  of  the  young  days  of  the  western 
country  would  have  commanded  a  ready  sale. 
Not  so.  Completed  in  1854,  the  first  edition, 
probably  not  more  than  four  hundred  copies, 
was  printed  in  a  small  job  office  at  Belleville,  and 
taken  by  a  single  bookseller  of  Chicago,  at  the 
author's'  personal  instigation.  Nearly  the  whole 
edition  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1857. 

Practically  out  of  print,  the  present  volume  is 
rather  a  new  work  than  the  reprint  of  an  old ; 
and  a  creditable  one  it  s.  The  extensive  range 
of  politics,  internal  improvement,  public  life 
and  personal  experience,  naturally  traversed  in 
this  bulky  volume,  render  even  a  slight  analysis 
impossible.  It  is  discursive  and  sketchy,  and 
abounds  in  details  of  purely  local  value,  but  it 
contains  also  a  mass  of  information  wh:ch  the 
enquirer  would  look  for  in  vain  elsewhere. 
Above  all  it  is  stamped  with  an  originality  and 
individuality  which  set  well  upon  the  shoulders 
of  a  western  man. — Mag.  of  Am.  Hist. ,A.ug, 1880. 

The  year  180 )  found  the  territory  now  occu- 
pied by  the  populous  State  of  Illinois  a  savage 
wilderness,  with  a  total  white  population- 
American  and  French— of  about  2,000  scattered 
throughout  its  domain.  Of  these  it  is  esti- 
mated that  the  French  Creoles  numbered  some 
1. -Jin i.  and  the  negroes  (slaves  and  freemen) 
about  200  more.  The  white  colonies  extended 
in  sparse  settlements,  from  Kaskaskia,  fifty 
miles  or  more,  to  Cahokia,  and  back  east  from 
the  Kaskaskia  river  only  a  few  miles.  The  colo- 
nies of  Kaskaskia,  Turkey  Hill,  the  New  Design, 
Horse  Prairie,  another  not  far  from  Kaskaskia, 
Piggot's  Fort,  Whiteside  Station,  Belle  Fountain 
and  another  very  small  one,  comprised  all  the 
American  settlements  in  Illinois  at  that  period. 
Their  population  was  about  800  strong,  all  told. 
This  period  of  the  history  of  Illinois  is  noted 
here,  and  probably  will  be  for  many  genera- 
tions, as  the  time"  when  the  parents  of  Gov. 
John  Reynolds  removed  to  Illinois  from  Ten- 
nessee and  added  the  seventh  family  to  the 
population  of  a  white  settlement  two  and  a-half 
miles  from  Kaskaskia.  -  Gov.  Reynolds  was  then 
12  years  old.  In  the  volume  before  us  he  de- 
scribes the  condition  of  the  country,  the  Ind- 
ians, the  privations  of  the  whites,  their  progress 
in  agriculture,  education,  government  and  so- 
cial characteristics  during  the  next  nine  years, 
at  considerable  length,  and  thus  furnishes  a 
fund  of  useful  and  interesting  information. 


About  this  t  ime,  having  reached  his  20th  year, 
the  Governor  entered  a  college  some  six  miles 
from  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  where  he  spent  two  years 
in  improving  his  mind,  returning  to  Illinois  in 
1811.  Afterward  he  studied  law  at  Knoxville. 

Then  began  the  War  of  1812  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, and  then,  too,  the  growing  State  of  Illinois 
became  the  theater  of  stirring  public  events 
which  gave  her  a  prominent  place  in  the  history 
of  the  West.  Four  chapters  are  devoted  to  this 
period,  including  the  massacre  at  Chicago,  the 
destruc'.ion  of  Peoria  and  affairs  in  that  vicini- 
ty, etc. 

Then  came  the  organization  of  the  Territory 
of  Illinois,  the  administration  of  Governor  Ed- 
wards, the  revision  of  the  laws,  and  the  r.rst 
Legislature;  Lewis  and  Clark's  expedition  to 
the  Pacific  coast;  the  extension  of  the  settle- 
ments ;  the  reign  of  "  regulators  "  and  mob-law ; 
the  history  of  religious  denominations  in  Illi- 
nois; the  professions;  the  history  of  slavery  in 
the  Territory,  and  the  author's  domestic  record, 
with  numerous  other  events  of  more  or  less  in- 
terest. 

In  1818  the  State  Government  was  formed,  and 
its  progress  is  noted  in  detail.  A  large  space  is 
given  to  the  subsequent  political  history  and 
internal  improvement  of  the  State,  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  with  the  Winnebago 
Indians.  Several  chapters  are  tilled  with  the 
history  of  the  Blackhawk  war  and  its  attendant 
excitements  and  events.  The  history  of  educa- 
tion and  early  newspapers  in  Illinois  receives 
due  attention. 

The  Governor  also  relates  the  national  situa- 
tion du-ing  his  term  in  Congress  from  1834  to 
1841,  inclusive;  his  visit  to  Europe  in  1839;  the 
pioneer  railroad  operations  in  the  State;  the 
construction  of  the  Illinois  -  and  -  Michigan  Ca- 
nal, with  other  internal  improvement-,  and 
the  history  of  the  Mormon  troubles  and  excite- 
ment. 

Such  is  aJirief  outlin^  of  Gov.  Reynolds'  book. 
It  is  valuable  as  reflecting  the  spirit  of  the  pio- 
neer days  of  Illinois,  and  as  the  record  of  a 
young  and  enterprising  Stile  struggling  against 
adverse  circumstances,  and  becoming  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  of  American  commonwealths. 
Nor  will  the  private  history  of  Gov.  Reynolds, 
the  sturdy  pioneer  Executive  and  Representa- 
tive of  the  State,  fail  to  interest  the  reader.  He 
belongs  to  Illinois,  because  he  aided  in  bringing 
her  to  the  present  prosperity  which  she  enjoys. 
He  passed  nearly  half  a  century  in  prominent 
public  life  in  Illinois — as  Judge  Advocate,  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, Governor,  Congressman,  Canal  Commis- 
sioner and  Speaker  of  the  House— and  is  so 
closely  identi.  ed  with  the  State  that  their  his- 
tories can  not  be  separated. 

This  volume  was  first  published  by  Gov.  Rey- 
nolds in  1855.  The  edition  was  small,  and  most 
of  it  was  destroyed  before  it  was  sold  in  a  f  re  in 
Chicago.  Thus'it  became  one  of  the  lost  books 
of  the  earth.  Fortunatelv  it  was  not  totally  ex- 
terminated, and  now  its  revival  <-y  the  enter- 
prising Chicago  house  whose  imprint  it  bears  is 
no  less  important  than  it  is  gratifying  to  those 
who  have  the  interests  of  the  State  at  heart.— 
Chicago  Journal,  Dec.  30, 1879. 


Sent    "by    mail,  i>ost-i>aicl,  on    reoel/pt    of   i>rice. 


COMPLIMENTS    OF 


k?          0 


d£arfj>  (Chicago, 


FORT    DEARBORN 

AX  ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED  AT  THE  UNVEILING  OF  THE  MEMORIAL  TABLET  TO  MARK 
THE  SITE  OF  THE  BLOCK  -  HOUSE, 

ON  SATURDAY  AFTERNOON,  MAY  2isT,  1881, 

UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF  THE 

CHICAGO    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY, 


TO   WHICH    HAVE    BEEN    ADDED 


BY 


HON.  JOHN  WEXTWORTH.  LLD., 

LATE    EDITOR,    PUBLISHER,    AND     PROPRIETOR    FOR     TWENTY  -  FIVE    YEARS 
OF    THE    "CHICAGO    DEMOCRAT,"  THE    FIRST    CORPORATION    NEWS- 
PAPER;    MEMBER    OF   CONGRESS,    FOR    THE   CHICAGO    DIS- 
TRICT,    FOR    TWELVE    YEARS;     TWO     TERMS 
MAYOR;    AND    A    SETTLER    OF    1836. 


CHICAGO: 
FERGUS   PRINTING   COMPANY. 

1881. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1881,  by 

FERGUS  PRINTING  COMPANY, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Revised  from   The  Chicago  Tribune,  of  Sunday,  May  22,  1881.* 


FORT    DEARBORN. 


The  Memorial  Tablet,   Marking  the  Site  of  the  Old 

Block-House,  Unveiled — Address  by  Hon.  John  Wentworth — 
A  Mass  of  Historical  Information — Documents  and  Statements 
never  before  made  Public  —  Capt.  Heald's  Own  Story  of  the 
Circumstances  Connected  with  the  Massacre— Letter  Ordering 
the  Establishing  of  the  Fort — Its  Early  Commanders — Promi- 
nent Officers  who  have  been  Stationed  within  its  Walls— Gen. 
Scott  and  the  Cholera— Noted  Names  in  Early  History — 
Remarks  by  Hon.  Thomas  Hoyne,  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  and 
Robert  J.  Bennett,  Esq. — An  Original  Poem  by  Eugene  J.  Hall 
— A  Son  of  Capt.  Nathan  Heald  in  Attendance. 


THE  tablet  which  marks  the  site  of  old  Fort  Dearborn  was  unveiled 
yesterday  with  appropriate  ceremonies  in  the  presence  of  the  First 
Regiment  I.  N.  G.  (350  strong)  and  about  1500  citizens.  As  has  been 
previously  stated  in  The  Tribune,  the  memento  is  on  the  north  front 
of  the  building  at  the  corner  of  River  Street  and  Michigan  Avenue, 
just  opposite  Rush-Street  bridge.  The  idea  originated  in  the  Histori- 
cal Society,  and  some  of  its  officers  having  mentioned  the  subject  to 
Mr.  Win.  M.  Hoyt,  of  the  tinn  which  occupies  the  structure,  he  fell  in 
with  it  at  once,  and  had  the  tablet  put  in  at  his  own  expense,  and 
yesterday  it  was  formally  "  presented  "  to  the  Historical  Society.  The 
tact  that  it  would  be  was  pretty  well  known,  and  by  half-past  three 
o'clock,  when  the  militia  were  on  the  ground  and  massed  on  River 
Street,  there  was  a  large  crowd  of  spectators  in  the  vicinity  who  had 
assembled  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings.  A  stand  had  been  erected 
on  the  corner  for  the  accommodation  of  the  speakers  and  others.  On 
the  front  part  of  it  was  a  model  of  the  old  block-house,  with  an 
American  flag  on  the  staff.  The  building  was  set  off  with  two  small 
oil-paintings  of  the  fort  and  flags,  every  window  on  both  fronts 

*  The  issue  of  The  Tribune,  which  contained  the  foregoing  account  of  this 
interesting  historical  event,  was  indeed  a  remarkable  one.  It  was  made  up 
of  the  regular  edition,  of  20  pages,  and  an  extra  of  16,  containing  the  revised 
New  Testament,  literatim,  et  ~cerbatim,  et  puncliuitim.  The  entire  paper  was, 
therefore,  made  up  of  36  pages,  of  seven  columns  to  a  page,  or  252  columns 


4  FORT   DEARBORN. 

containing  one  of  the  latter,  and  a  large  flag^  was  pendant  from  a  rope 
strung  across  the  street.  Other  structures  in  the  neighborhood  were 
similarly  adorned. 

Among  the  well-known  citizens  and  old  settlers  on  the  stand  and  in 
the  audience  were  the  following:  Gurdon  S.  Hubbaid,  Dr.  Hiram 
Wheeler,  who  came  to  Chicago  in  1831,  and  slept  the  first  night  on 
the  floor  of  the  block-house;  Judge  John  A.  Jameson,  Hon.  Thomas 
Hoyne,  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  John  Bates,  1832;  Thos.  Rapp.  Samuel 
I).  Ward,  Albert  D.  Hagar,  James  J.  Richards,  James  Lane,  E.  F.  C. 
Klokke,  Rev.  David  Swing,  Andrew  J.  Galloway,  Walter  Kimball, 
Hon.  Win.  Bross,  Mayor  Carter  H.  Harrison,  James  Couch,  Hon.  E.  M. 
Haines,  Augustin  Deodat  Taylor,  Michael  Dulanty,  Reuben  J.  Bennett, 
N.  Landon;  Lawrence  Bauer,  whose  wedding  reception  took  place  in 

in  all.  The  New  Testament  occupied  112  columns  of  minion — a  type  two 
sizes  larger  than  that  used  in  setting  up  advertisements.  Aside  from  its  clear, 
attractive  presentation  of  a  work  which  the  public  was  curious  and  even 
anxious  to  obtain  at  the  earliest  moment,  and  in  all  its  entirety,  The  Tribune 
had  its  full  complement  of  telegraphic  and  local  news,  editorial  matter,  and 
advertisements.  Nothing  was  slurred  over;  nothing  was  omitted.  It  was  a 
complete  newspaper,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  Out  of  the  total  of  252 
columns,  72  were  devoted  to  advertisements,  and  the  remaining  180 — includ- 
ing the  112  used  in  printing  the  New  Testament — to  reading  matter.  Of 
the  72  columns  of  advertisements,  about  40  were  taken  up  with  displayed 
advertisements,  about  31  with  small  advertisements,  including  the  "Wants," 
and  about  a  column  with  paid  reading  matter.  Of  the  regular  reading  matter, 
1 20  columns  were  set  in  minion,  59  in  nonpareil,  and  i  in  agate. 

The  entire  Testament  revision  was  set  up,  corrected,  placed  in  the  forms, 
and  stereotyped  between  the  hours  of  ten  in  the  morning  and  ten  in  the 
evening — a  piece  of  work  which  is  only  a  fair  illustration  of  The  Tribune's 
unsurpassed  mechanical  facilities.  Eighty-seven  compositors  were  employed 
in  setting  the  type,  and  five  in  correcting  the  errors  noted  by  the  proof-readers, 
though  neither  class  of  workmen  was  continuously  employed  on  the  New 
Testament.  A  number  of  them  were  taken  off  the  work  along  in  the  after- 
noon of  Saturday,  to  set  advertisements,  while  the  remainder  worked  indis- 
criminately on  the  New  Testament  and  the  reading  matter  which  went  to 
make  up  the  regular  Sunday  edition.  Had  the  whole  force  been  employed 
continuously  on  the  New  Testament,  the  whole  revision  would  have  been  set 
up,  corrected,  locked  up  in  the  forms,  and  stereotyped  in  eight,  instead  of 
twelve  hours.  The  Tribune  has  shown  its  enterprise  in  similar  directions  on 
several  previous  occasions,  but  on  this  one  it  excelled  itself,  furnishing  a 
notable  instance  of  what  unlimited  mechanical  facilities,  intelligently  con- 
trolled, are  able  to  accomplish. 


/ 

REMARKS  OF  ROBERT  J.  BENNETT.         5 

ort;  Hon.  Elilm  B.  Washburne,  Charles  C.  P.  Holden,  Joel  C. 

^.  Arthur  G.  Burlev,  Mark  Kimball,  Mr.  — .  McChesnev,  Thomas      *  - 

/         i/* 
arter.  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter,  Benjamin  F.  Aver,  Charles  1'r/sbv// ,7- 

:)t.  Darius  Heald,  Frank  Hoyne.  Col.  W.  H.  Thompson,  Gej^J^AlTp  fl.O    cj  *J 
Sheridan,  William  M.  Hoyt.  ex-Mayor  Isaac  L.  M illrkejiy^i Q£y»^     /P 
ent worth,  Gen.  A.  L.  Chetlain.  Wm.  B.  H.  G|jrl0rl%n1erK\^eTirsonl. 
.  H.  Kiusr.  Wm.  K.  Ackerman;  Alexander jjlenrv.  Philip.  William 
&.,  Maurice  D.P.,  and  Isadore.  all  sons  of  Gen.  John  B.  Beaubien; 

aliston.  David,  George.  Edward,  Frank^Gordon,  and  Slidell,  all  sons 
Mark  BeaubienTFrank,  John,  and  William  R.,  sons  of  Henry,  and 
grandsons  of  Gen.  J.  B.  Beaubien;  Oscar  Dow  us,  son-in-law  of  Mark 
Beaubien.  and  Samuel  S.  Beach. 

The  gathering  was  called  to  order  by  the  Hon.  Isaac  X.  Arnold, 
President  of  the  Historical  Society,  who  said: 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  I  suppose  there  are  many  here  to-day,  possibly, 
who  do  not  know  that  on  the  spot  where  we  stand,  and  extending" 
north,  inclosed  with  pickets,  was  old  Fort  Dearborn,  far  off  in  the 
then  wilderness.  We  have  met  to-day  to  place  in  position  and  to 
inaugurate  a  tablet  that  shall  tell  to  all  who  shall  come  after  us,  where 
that  Fort  was  located.  There  is  present  with  us  a  gentleman  who, 
forty-eight  years  ago,  organized  the  first  church  in  Chicago,  and  who 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  Fort.  It  is  altogether  proper  that 
these  services  be  opened  with  prayer,  and  that  that  gentleman  should 
address  the  Throne  of  Grace  on  this  occasion. 

The  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter,  who  preached  in  the  Fort  in  1833,  and 
was  Chicago's  first  resident  pastor,  came  forward  and  offered  prayer. 

Mr.  Robert  J.  Bennett  was  then  introduced  and  said: 

MK.  CHAIRMAN:  In  behalf  of  my  respected  kinsman  and  friend. 
Mr.  William  M.  Hoyt,  of  this  City,  it  is  my  pleasant  privilege  to  pro- 
sent  to  you  as  the  honorable  President  and  representative  of  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society,  and  through  you  to  the  world,  this  tablet 
which  is  soon  to  be  uncovered  to  the  view  of  this  audience.  At  the 
suggestion  of  members  of  your  Society,  this  memorial  stone  is  placed 
to  tell  the  passers-by  through  the  years  to  come  that  here  stood  old 
Fort  Dearborn;  that  here,  within  the  memory  of  men  now  living, 
stood  the  outmost  defence  of  our  common  country ;  that  here,  on  this 
spot,  thrice  consecrated  by  blood  and  fire,  was  planted  the  germ  which 
in  so  short  a  time  has  budded,  blossomed,  and  grown  into  this  magnifi- 
cent City.  While  we  are  looking  over  the  past  let  it  not  be  forgotten 
that  we  are  making  history  for  the  future.  We  will  fondly  hope  that 


6  FORT   DEARBORN. 

the  record  of  this  generation  will  be  as  satisfactory  to  the  next  as  are 
the  events  we  now  commemorate  to  us.  May  the  Chicago  of  the 
future  as  far  exceed  the  present  in  all  that  is  great  and  glorious  as  does 
the  present  exceed  the  days  of  old  Fort  Dearborn. 

Mr.  Chairman,  hoping  this  memorial  stone  will  be  as  gladly  received 
as  it  is  cheerfully  given,  I  ask  Chicago's  oldest  citizen,  our  much 
esteemed  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  to  unveil  this  tablet  for  inspection  and 
acceptance. 

The  military  presented  arms,  and,  as  Mr.  Hubbard  drew  from  in 
front  of  the  tablet  the  flag  which  had  covered  it,  the  crowd  cheered 
and  the  band  played  a  medley  of  National  airs. 

Order  being  restored,  Mr.  Arnold  requested  Hon.  Thomas  Hoyne  to 
respond  on  behalf  of  the  Historical  Society,  and  he  did  so  as  follows : 

MR.  BENNETT  :  I  have  been  selected  by  the  Historical  Society  to 
return  to  you  their  profound  and  grateful  thanks  for  the  very  appro- 
priate and  beautiful  memento  which,  at  your  own  cost,  you  have  placed 
on  this  historical  corner.  It  is  a  memento  which,  as  every  one  will  see 
at  a  glance,  recalls  centuries  of  time,  and  embodies  almost  the  whole 
history  of  events.  We  stand  upon  historical  ground.  We  stand  upon 
the  ground  where,  as  you  have  very  eloquently  said,  was  planted  the 
original  germ  of  the  population  who  to-day  constitute  the  great  com- 
mercial metropolis  of  not  only  the  West,  where  the  Fort  was  estab- 
lished in  ad\ance  of  civilization,  but  the  commercial  centre  of  the 
country.  We  stand  in  the  presence,  also,  of  things  which  bring  to 
remembrance  some  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of  Xational  history. 
On  yonder  shore  of  this  same  river  two  centuries  ago — in  the  winter 
of  1674 — stood  the  first  Christian  missionary  that  ever  visited  this 
land, — the  pious  and  humble  Marquette,  the  discoverer  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, who  was  the  fiist  white  man  that  ever  spent  a  winter  on  this 
river,  or  at  this  spot.  And,  sir,  we  stand  upon  the  ground  wliere,  at 
the  beginning  of  this  century,  a  whole  garrison  marched  out,  and  upon 
the  shore  of  this  lake,  belosv  here,  were  slaughtered  mercilessly  by  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  same  land. 

"We  say  to  you,  Mr.  Bennett,  and  your  friend,  Mr.  Hoyt,  and  others 
whose  patriotism  and  enterprise  have  secured  this  monument,  that  you 
have  set  an  excellent  example;  for,  as  the  events  are  fast  passing  from 
the  memory  of  the  generation  now  coming  up,  it  is  essential  that  such 
monuments  as  this  be  erected  by  men  like  yourself  to  perpetuate  what 
is  associated  with  the  foundation  of  this  great  commercial  metropolis, 
wonderful  in  its  rise,  wonderful  in  its  advance,  and  wonderful  in  its 
consummation. 


POEM   BY   EUGENE  J.   HALL. 
Eugene  J.  Hall   next  read   the   following  original  poem : 

FORT   DEARBORN. 

Chicago,  1881. 
Here,  where  the  savage  war-whoop  once  resounded, 

Where  council-fires  burned  brightly  years  ago, 
Where  the  red  Indian  from  his  covert  bounded 
To  scalp  his  pale-faced  foe. 

Here,  where  gray  badgers  had  their  haunts  and  burrows, 

Where  wild  wolves  howled  and  prowled  in  midnight  bands, 
Where  frontier  farmers  turned  the  virgin  furrows, 
Our  splendid  city  stands. 

Here,  where  brave  men  and  lovely  women  perished; 
Here,  where  in  unknown  graves  their  forms  decay; 
This  marble,  that  their  memory  may  be  cherished, 
We  consecrate  to-day. 

No  more  the  farm-boy's  call,  or  lowing  cattle 

Frighten  the  timid  wild-fowl  from  the  slough; 
The  noisy  trucks  and  wagons  roll  and  rattle 
O'er  miles  of  pavements  now. 

Now  are  our  senses  startled  and  confounded, 
By  screaming  whistle  and  by  clanging  bell, 
Where  Beaubien's  merry  fiddle  once  resounded, 
When  Summer  twilight  fell. 

Here  stood  the  Fort,  with  palisades  about  it, 

With  low  log  block-house,  in  those  early  hours, 
The  prairie  fair  extending  far  without  it, 
Blooming  with  fragrant  flowers. 

About  this  spot  the  buildings  quickly  clustered; 
The  logs  decayed;  the  palisades  went  down; 
Here  the  resistless  Western  spirits  mustered, 
And  built  this  wondrous  town. 

Here  from  the  trackless  slough  its  structures  started, 

And,  one  by  one,  in  splendor  rose  to  view; 
The  white  ships  went  and  came,  the  years  departed, 
And  still  she  grandly  grew. 

Till  one  wild  night,  a  night  each  man  remembers, 

When  round  her  homes  the  red  fire  leaped  and  curled, 
The  sky  was  filled  with  flame  and  flying  embers 
That  swept  them  from  the  world. 


8  FORT   DEARBORN. 

Men  said,  "Chicago's  bright  career  is  ended!" 

As  by  her  smoldering  stones  they  chanced  to  go, 
While  the  wide  world  its  love  and  pity  blended 
To  help  us  in  our  woe. 

O  where  was  ever  human  goodness  greater? 

Man's  love  for  man  was  never  more  sublime; 
On  the  eternal  scroll  of  our  Creator 
'Tis  written  for  all  time. 

Chicago  lives,  and  many  a  lofty  steeple 

Looks  down  to-day  upon  this  Western  plain; 
The  tireless  hands  of  her  unconquered  people 
Have  reared  her  walls  again. 

Long  may  she  live,  and  grow  in  wealth  and  beauty, 

And  may  her  children  be  in  coming  years 
True  to  their  trust,  and  faithful  to  their  duty 
As  her  brave  pioneers. 

Mr.  Arnold  then  asked  Hon.  John  AVentworth  to  step  forward, 
saying  that  Chicago  was  more  indebted  to  him  than  any  other  man  for 
the  appropriations  obtained  from  Congress  for  the  magnificent  harbor 
they  saw  before  them. 

"The  Chicago  Historical  Society,''  began  Mr.  "Wentwortli,  whose 
appearance  was  greeted  with  cheers,  "requested  me  to  prepare  a  his- 
tory of  Fort  Dearborn.  "When  I  found  that  I  must  confine  myself  to 
history,  I  immediately  removed  from  my  table  all  my  poetical  M'orks; 
I  also  laid  aside  my  Dictionary  of  Eloquent  Quotations,  and  my 
Compendiiyn  of  Interesting  Anecdotes.  I  have  aimed  not  only  to 
give  a  brief  history  of  all  persons  ever  connected  with  the  Fort,  but, 
when  possible,  to  give  the  names 'of  some  of  their  descendants  now 
living,  thus  connecting  the  past  with  the  present.  I  hope  thereby  to 
receive  for  our  Historical  Society  new  facts  for  the  development  of 
Chicago's  Early  History."  Regardless  of  a  severe  wind  blowing 
directly  in  his  face,  and  of  the  whistling  of  the  tug-boats  numerously 
passing  through  the  Rush-Street  bridge,  not  one  hundred  feet  from 
him,  Mr.  AVentworth,  in  the  open  air,  delivered  the  following  address : 


FORT   DEARBORN: 

AN   ADDRESS, 

Delivered  under  the  auspices  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  on  Saturday, 
Afternoon,  May  21,  1881,  on  the  Fort  Site, 

BY  HON.  JOHN  WENTWORTH,  LL.D. 


r  I  AHE  first  official  recognition  of  an  intention  to  construct  a 
J^  fort  at  Chicago  may  be  found  in  a  letter  upon  the  records 
of  the  War  Department,  dated  June  28th,  1804,  directed  to  Gen. 
James  Wilkinson,  but  which  letter  bears  no  signature.  As  the 
letter  was  dated  at  the  War  Department,  and  as  the  Secretary  of 
War  alone  could  give  such  directions,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  it  eminated  from  Gen.  Henry  Dearborn,  Secretary  of  War 
during  President  Jefferson's  administration,  from  1801  to  1809. 
This  letter  says: 

"Being  of  opinion  that,  for  the  general  defence  of  our  country, 
we  ought  not  to  rely  on  fortifications,  but  on  men  and  steel ;  and 
that  works  calculated  for  resisting  batteries  of  cannon  are  neces- 
sary only  for  our  principal  seaports,  I  can  not  conceive  it  to  be 
useful  or  expedient  to  construct  expensive  works  for  our  interior 
military  posts,  especially  such  as  are  intended  merely  to  hold  the 
Indians  in  check.  I  have,  therefore,  directed  stockade-works, 
aided  by  block-houses,  to  be  erected  at  Vincennes,  at-  Chikago, 
at  near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes,  and  at  Kaskas- 
kias,  in  conformity  to  the  sketch  herewith  enclosed,  each  cal- 
culated for  a  full  company;  the  block-houses  to  be  constructed 
of  timber,  slightly  hewed,  and  of  the  most  durable  kind  to  be 
obtained  at  the  respective  places;  the  magazines  for  powder  to  be 
of  brick  of  a  conic  figure,  each  capable  of  receiving  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  barrels  of  powder.  Establishments  of  the  kind 
here  proposed  will,  I  presume,  be  necessary  for  each  of  the 
military  posts  in  Upper  and  Lower  Louisiana,  New  Orleans  and 
its  immediate  dependencies  excepted.  I  will  thank  you  to 
examine  the  enclosed  sketch,  and  to  give  me  your  opinion  on  the 
dimensions  and  other  proposed  arrangements.  You  will  observe 
the  block-houses  are  intended  to  be  so  placed  as  to  scour  from 
the  upper  and  lower  stories  the  whole  of  the  lines.  The  back 
part  of  the  barracks  are  to  have  port-holes  which  can  be  opened 


10  FORT   DEARBORN. 

when  necessary  for  the  use  of  musketry  for  annoying  an  enemy. 
It  will,  I  presume,  be  proper,  ultimately,  to  extend  the  pallisades 
round  the  block-houses." 

This  letter  spells  Chicago  with  a  k.  This  sketch,  referred  to, 
can  not  be  found  in  the  archives  at  Washington,  and,  as  the 
opinion  of  Gen.  Wilkinson  was  solicited  as  to  the  dimensions 
and  other  proposed  arrangements,  and  as  he  was  more  of  a 
frontiersman  than  the  Secretary  of  War,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
a  new  plan  altogether  was  adopted. 

Gen.  Henry  Dearborn  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
was  a  distinguished  Soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  in 
that  of  1812.  In  times  of  peace,  he  was  almost  always  in  civil 
service,  dying  at  Roxbury,  Mass.,  June  6th,  1829,  where  a  portion 
of  his  mansion  still  stands. 

M    jjenrv  Q  R   Dearborn?  his  grandson,  a  resident  of  Chicago  in 
^*th*e*^urnmer  of  1838,  and  afterward  of  Winnebago  County,  and 

0  married  there,  July  6th,  1840,  Sarah  M.,  daughter  of  Henry 
Thurston.  of  Harlem,  of  that  county,  one  of  our  most  respected 
early  settlers,  still  lives  at  Roxbury.  He  is  the  son  of  Gen. 
Henry  A.  S.  Dearborn,  who  lived  and  died  there,  and  was  a 
soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  a  member  of  Congress,  and 
worthily  filled  the  shoes  of  his  father. 

Gen.  Wilkinson  was  a  Marylander,  and  was  a  general  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  and  thereafter  passed  most  of  his  time 
upon  the  frontier,  being  associated  with  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne 
in  most  of  his  campaigns  against  the  Indians.  But,  whatever 
the  plan  was,  it  is  a  legitimate  inference  from  the  letter  of  the 
Secretary,  that  the  plan  was  the  same  for  all  the  points  men- 
tioned. It  has  occurred  to  me  that,  as  the  other  forts  were 
of  longer  continuance  than  ours,  and,  in  all  probability,  much 
longer,  we  may  yet  find  among  some  of  the  old  settlers,  or 
the  Historical  Societies  of  those  localities,  some  kind  of  a 
picture  that  will  give  us  an  approximate  idea  of  what  our  original 
Fort  was.  I  am  making  efforts  in  this  direction. 

John  H.  Kinzie,  in  his  Narrative,  says,  "Although  it  stood 
upon  the  same  ground  as  the  last  Fort,  it  was  differently  con- 
structed, having  two  block-houses  on  the  southern  side;  and  on 
the  northern  side,  a  sally-port,  or  subterranean  passage  from  the 
parade  ground  to  the  river." 

This  we  officially  know,  that  on  June  28th,  1804,  there  was  no 
fort  here,  but  that  one  was  being  projected.  September  30,  1804, 
there  were  one  captain,  two  second  lieutenants,  four  sergeants, 
four  corporals,  four  musicians,  and  fifty-four  privates  here.  Jan. 
i,  1805,  Capt.  John  Whistler  and  his  son,  2d-Lieut.  Wm.  Whistler, 


BY   HON.   JOHN    WENTWORTH. 


I  I 


were  reported  here;  also,  ist-Lieut.  Moses  Hooke,  who  was  a 
native  of  Massachusetts,  and  resigned  when  captain,  Jan.  20,  1808. 
By  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795,  the  Pottawatomies, 
Miamis,  and  their  allies,  relinquished  their  right  to  "one  piece 
of  land,  six-  miles  square,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River, 
emptying  into  the  south-west  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  a  fort 
formerly  stood."  Many  persons,  besides  myself,  have  endeavored 
to  find  something  to  give  character  to  this  Fort,  thus  recognized 
by  Gen.  Wayne,  but  there  has  been  only  one  conclusion  reached 
in  relation  to  the  matter,  and  that  is,  that  it  was  only  a  French 
trading-post  with  mere  temporary  outside  protection  against  In- 
dian robberies. 


THE  FIRST  FORT  DEARBORN,  ERECTED  IN  1804.* 

*  It  stood  nearly  on  the  site  of  the  Fort  erected  in  1816,  and  finally  demol- 
ished in  the  summer  of  1856.  It  was  somewhat  different  in  its  structure  from 
its  successor.  It  had  two  block -houses,  one  on  the  south-east  corner,  the 
other  at  the  north-west.  On  the  north  side  was  a  sally-port,  or  subterranean 
passage,  leading  from  the  parade  ground  to  the  river,  designed  as  a  place  of 
escape  in  an  emergency,  or  for  supplying  the  garrison  with  water  in  time  of  a 
siege.  The  whole  was  enclosed  by  a  strong  palisade  of  wooden  pickets.  At 
the  west  of  the  fort,  and  fronting  north  on  the  river*,  was  a  two-story  log  build- 
ing, covered  with  split-oak  siding,  which  was  the  United- States  factory, 
attached  to  the  fort.  On  the  shore  of  the  river,  between  the  fort  and  the 
factory,  were  the  root-houses,  or  cellars  of  the  garrison.  The  ground  adjoin- 
ing the  fort  on  the  south  side,  was  enclosed  and  cultivated  as  a  garden.  The 
Fort  was  furnished  with  three  pieces  of  light-artillery.  A  company  of  United- 
States  troops,  about  fifty  in  number,  many  of  whom  were  invalids,  constituted 
the  garrison.  It  received  the  name  of  Fort  Dearborn,  by  which  it  was  ever 
after  known  as  long  as  it  continued  a  military  post.  Such  was  the  old  Fort 
previous  to  1812.  Through  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  JOHN  H.  KINZIE,  who  fur- 
nished the  sketch,  we  are  enabled  to  present  a  view  of  this  Fort  as  it  appeared 
previous  to  that  year.  —  Chicago  Magazine,  Vol.  /.,  No.  i.,  March,  1837. 


12  FORT   DEARBORN. 

Official  records  show  that  the  Fort  was  called  "Fort  Dear- 
born," in  1812,  and  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  it  was  not 
so  called  from  1804. 

The  Adjutant-General's  official  records  say:  "Post  established, 
by  United  States  forces,  in  1804.  Situated  within  a  few  yards  of 
Lake  Michigan,  in  latitude  41°  51' north;  longitude  87°  15'  west." 

The  Adjutant-General  writes  me  that  from  1804  to  1812  there 
are  no  records  on  file.  So  I  must  fill  up  this  space  of  time  from 
unofficial  sources. 

At  various  times  after  my  arrival  here,  on  the  25th  of  October, 
1836,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting  Major  William  Whistler  of 
the  regular  army  here,  where  he  had  a  daughter,  who  is  still  living, 
the  widow  of  Robert  A.  Kinzie.  Major  Whistler  died  at  New- 
port, Ky.,  December  4th,  1863,  in  his  eightieth  year,  or  there- 
abouts, but  his  widow  died  more  recently,  and  visited  this  City, 
in  full  possession  of  all  her  mental  faculties,  in  1875.  He  was 
appointed  second-lieutenant,  June  8th,  1801.  Thus  his  military 
life  would  cover  over  sixty  years  of  the  history  of  Chicago;  and 
during  the  most  of  this  time  he,  or  some  descendant  of  his  family, 
has  been  here;  he  claiming  to  have  come  here  in  1803,  as  a 
second-lieutenant  in  the  company  of  his  father,  and  to  have  passed 
that  winter  here  with  his  wife,  and  which  statement  she  confirmed 
when  last  here.  Two  of  his  children  were  born  in  the  old  Fort, 
and  probably  the  only  children  ever  born  there.  Many  of  our 
old  settlers  remember  John  Harrison  Whistler,  who  was  born 
there  October  7th,  1807,  married  Esther  Bailly  of  old  Baillytown, 
near  Porter  Station,  Porter  County,  Indiana,  at  the  house  of 
Gen.  John  B.  Beaubien,  in  Chicago,  and  died  in  Burlington, 
Kansas,  October  23d,  1873.  Another  son  was  born  there  who 
died  young. 

In  1832,  Major  William  Whistler  was  commandant  of  the 
Fort,  having  been  made  so  June  i7th,  and  so  was  here  during 
the  Black- Hawk  war,  and  during  the  cholera  season.  In  the 
absence  of  official  documents,  the  statements  of  the  Kinzie 
family  and  of  the  Whistler  family  are  our  best  authority,  five 
generations  of  the  latter  and  four  of  the  former  having  lived  here. 
I  quote  from  the  Chicago  Antiquities,  by  H.  H.  Hurlbut: 

"It  was  a  coveted  pilgrimage  which  we  sought,  as  any  one 
might  believe,  for  it  was  during  the  tremendous  rain-storm  of  the 
evening  of  2Qth  October,  1875,  tnat  we  sallied  out  to  call  at  Mrs. 
Col.  R.  A.  Kinzie's,  for  an  introduction  to  that  lady's  mother, 
Mrs.  Whistler.  *  *  *  Her  tenacious  memory  ministers  to  a 
voluble  tongue,  and  we  may  say  briefly,  she  is  an  agreeable,  in- 
telligent, and  sprightly  lady,  numbering  only  a  little  over  88  years. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  13 

'To-day,'  said  she,  'I  received  my  first  pension  on  account  of  my 
husband's  services.'  *  *  Born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  July  3d, 

1787,  her  maiden  name  was  Julia  Person,  and  her  parents  were 
John  and  Mary  (La  Dake)  Person.  In  childhood  she  removed 
with  her  parents  to  Detroit,  where  she  received  most  of  her  edu- 
cation. In  the  month  of  May,  1802,  she  was  married  to  William 
Whistler,  born  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  about  1784,  a  second- 
lieutenant  in  the  company  of  his  father,  Captain  John  Whistler, 
U.S.A.,  then  stationed  at  Detroit.  In  the  summer  of  1803, 
Captain  Whistler's  company  was  ordered  to  Chicago,  to  occupy 
the  post  and  build  the  Fort.  Lieut.  James  S.  Swearingen  (late 
Colonel  Swearingen,  of  Chillicothe,  O.)  conducted  the  company 
from  Detroit  overland.  The  U.  S.  schooner  Tracy,  Dorr,  master, 
was  dispatched  at  the  same  time,  for  same  destination,  by  the 
lakes,  with  supplies,  and  having  also  on  board  Captain  John 
Whistler,  Mrs.  Whistler,  their  son  George  W.,  then  three  years 
old,  (afterward  the  distinguished  engineer  in  the  employ  of  the 
Russian  government),  Lieut.  Wm.  Whistler,  and  the  young  wife 
of  the  last-named  gentleman.  The  schooner  stopped  briefly  on 
her  route  at  St.  Joseph's  River,  where  the  Whistlers  left  the 
vessel  and  took  a  row-boat  to  Chicago.  The  schooner  on  arriv- 
ing at  Chicago,  anchored  half  a  mile  from  the  shore,  discharging 
her  freight  by  boats.  Some  2,000  Indians  visited  the  locality 
while  the  vessel  was  here,  being  attracted  by  so  unusual  an 
occurrence,  as  the  appearance  in  these  waters  of  'a  big  canoe 
with  wings.'  Lieut.  Swearingen  returned  with  the  Tracy  to 
Detroit." 

"There  were  then  here,  says  Mrs.  W.,  but  four  rude  huts,  or 
traders'  cabins,  occupied  by  white  men,  Canadian  French,  with 
Indian  wives.  *  *  Capt.  Whistler,  upon  his  arrival,  at  once 
set  about  erecting  a  stockade  and  shelter  for  their  protection, 
followed  by  getting  out  the  sticks  for  the  heavier  work.  It  is 
worth  mentioning  here,  that  there  was  not  at  that  time,  within 
hundreds  of  miles,  a  team  of  horses,  or  oxen,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, the  soldiers  had  to  don  the  harness,  and  with  the  aid 
of  ropes  drag  home  the  needed  timbers.  *  *  Lieut.  Whistler, 
after  about  five  years  sojourn  here,  was  transferred  to  Fort 
Wayne,  having  previously  been  made  a  first-lieutenant.  *  * 

"Col.  Wm.  Whistler's  height  at  maturity  was  6  feet  2  inches, 
and  his  weight  at  one  time  was  260  pounds.  He  died  in  New- 
port, Ky.,  Dec.  4th,  1863."  Mrs.  Whistler  lived  to  be  ninety 
years  of  age,  dying  on  February  i3th,  1878,  at  Newport,  Ky.,  and 
leaving  four  daughters,  one  son,  Gen.  J.  N.  G.  Whistler,  now. 
stationed  at  Fort  Keogh,  Dakota,  and  thirty-seven  grandchildren, 


14  FORT   DEARBORN. 

according  to  the  obituary  notice  published  at  the  time.  Mrs. 
Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheridan  is  her  grand-niece. 

This  Capt.  John  Whistler,  father  of  William,  according  to 
Gardner's  Military  Dictionary,  was  originally  a  British  soldier, 
and  was  made  prisoner  with  Gen.  Burgoyne,  at  Saratoga,  October, 
1777,  where  our  Gen.  Henry  Dearborn  was  serving  as  Major. 
He  afterward  joined  the  American  army,  became  sergeant,  and 
by  hard  fighting,  won  his  way  to  a  captaincy  in  the  ist  Infantry, 
in  April,  1802.  He  was  made  Brevet-Major  in  1812,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  capacity  until  his  company  was  disbanded  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  June,  1815.  He  died  at  Bellefontaine,  Mo., 
in  1827,  where  he  had  been  a  military  store-keeper  several  years. 
The  United  States  official  register  says  he  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. There  is  nothing  to  contradict  the  general  impression  that 
about  the  year  1810,  he  was  succeeded  by  Capt.  Nathan  Heald, 
who  commanded  at  the  destruction  of  the  Fort;  making  but  two 
commandants  in  the  life  of  the  first  Fort,  the  one  being  a  witness 
of  its  commencement,  and  the  other  of  its  destruction.  Heald 
was  made  Major,  August  26th,  1812.  eleven  days  after  the  mas- 
sacre, and  went  into  private  life  with  the  disbandment  of  his 
regiment  at  the  close  of  the  war,  June,  1815.  His  wife  was 
Rebekah,  daughter  of  Col.  Samuel  Wells,  of  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  niece  of  the  murdered  Capt.  William  Wells,*  for  whom 
our  Wells  Street  was  named.  Mrs.  Juliette  A.  Kinzie,  in  her 
Wau-bun,  says,  "The  Indians  stole  Capt.  Wells,  when  a  boy, 
from  the  family  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Pope,  of  Kentucky,  with 
whom  he  was  living." 

Some  writers  contend  that,  had  Capt.  Whistler  been  in  charge 
of  the  Fort  instead  of  Capt.  Heald,  the  massacre  would  not 
have  taken  place.  Capt.  Heald  has  had  no  one  to  speak  for 
him  here.  But  he  was  appointed  from  Massachusetts  a  lieuten- 
ant, in  1799,  and  could  not  be  supposed  to  have  had  that  ac- 
quaintance with  the  characteristics  of  the  Indians  which  Whistler 
had,  who  had  been  in  his  country's  service  ever  since  Burgoyne's 
surrender  in  1777,  and  principally  against  the  Indians,  and  fre- 
quently participating  in  the  campaigns  of  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair, 
and  in  one  of  which  he  was  wounded. t  Fault-finders  say  he 

*  For  history  of  Capt.  Wm.  Wells  and  family,  see  Appendix  A. 

t  In  the  Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Members  of  the  Corinthian  Lodge  of 
Masons,  at  Concord,  Mass.,  I  find  the  following :  "Nathan  Heald,  initiated 
in  1797,  died  at  Stockland,  [now  O'Fallon],  in  St.  Charles  Co.,  Mo.,  where 
he  had  resided  for  some  years,  in  1832,  aged  57  years.  He  was  born  in  New 
Ipswich,  N.H.,  [Sept.  29,]  1775,  [was  the  third  son  of  Col.  Thomas  and 
Sybel  (Adams)  Heald,]  and  in  early  life  joined  the  U.  S.  Army."  Mrs. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  I  5 

should  have  done  one  of  two  things,  neither  of  which  he  did. 
He  should  have  abandoned  the  Fort  at  once  upon  receiving  his 
orders  from  Gen.  William  Hull,  commanding  at  Detroit,  which 
were  received  here  on  the  yth,  or  else  have  put  the  Fort  in  a  con- 
dition for  permanent  defence.  Gen.  Hull's  orders  were  to 
evacuate  the  post  if  practicable,  and,  in  that  event,  to  distribute 
the  property  belonging  to  the  United  States,  in  the  Fort  and  in  the 
factory  or  agency,  to  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was 
not  until  eight  days  thereafter  that  Capf.  Heald  evacuated  the 
post.  Yet  there  may  have  been  considerations  held  out  to  him 
by  friendly  chiefs  and  their  friends,  which  they  could  not  make 
good  after  the  news  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain  became  gener- 
ally spread.  Even  Gen.  Hull  thought  the  Indians  friendly,  or  he 
would  not  have  ordered  the  property  distributed  as  he  did.  But 
Mackinaw  had  surrendered  to  the  British  on  the  iyth  of  July,  and 
the  Indians  may  have  heard  of  it,  although  Capt.  Nathan  Heald 
did  not  hear  of  it  until  the  arrival  of  Gen.  William  Hull's  mes- 
sage, on  the  yth.  As  the  Indians  generally  favored  the  British, 
the  news  from  Mackinaw  may  have  excited  them.  Gen.  Hull  sur- 
rendered Detroit  to  Gen.  Isaac  Brock  (who  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Queenstown.  on  the  i3th  October,  ensuing)  about 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  Chicago  massacre.  And  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  our  John  B.  Beaubien  was  at  the  surrender 
of  Mackinaw,  whilst  his  brother,  Mark  Beaubien,  was  at  that  of 
Detroit. 

I  now  quote  from  the  Adjutant-General's  letter  of  April  2d, 
1 88  r,  giving  all  that  appears  upon  the  records  of  the  War  De- 
partment, respecting  the  destruction  of  the  Fort : 

"August  1 5th,  1812,  the  garrison,  having  evacuated  the  post 
and  were  en  route  for  Fort  Wayne,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Nathan  Heald,  ist  United  States  Infantry,  composed  of  54  regular 
infantry,  12  militia-men,  and  i  interpreter,  was  attacked  by  the 
Indians  to  the  number  of  between  400  and  500,  of  whom  15  were 
reported  killed.  Those  of  the  garrison  killed  were  Ensign  Geo. 
Ronan,  ist  Infantry,  Dr.  I.  V.  Van  Voorhis,  Capt.  Wells,  interpre- 
ter, 24  enlisted  men  United  States  Infantry,  and  12  militia-men; 
2  women  and  12  children  were  also  killed.  The  wounded  were 

Maria  (Heald)  Edwards,  of  this  City,  born  at  New  Ipswich,  N. H.,  in  1803, 
mother  of  Mrs.  Gen.  A.  L.  Chetlain,  was  the  oldest  child  of  his  brother 
Hon.  Thomas  Heald,  one  of  the  Associate-Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Alabama,  who  died  at  Mobile,  Alabama,  in  1821,  aged  53.  There  was  a 
younger  brother,  Jonas  Heald,  who  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  single.  Mrs. 
Edwards  has  a  sister,  Mrs.  Eliza  Heald  Stone,  residing  at  Concord,  Mass., 
but  no  brothers. 


1  6 


FORT   DEARBORN. 


\~'  — 
IT 


Capt.  Nathan  Heald  and  Mrs.  Heald.  None  others  reported. 
The  next  day,  August  i6th,  1812,  the  post  was  destroyed  by  the 
Indians." 

Ensign  George  Ronan  was  from  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
a  graduate  of  the  Military  Academy,  in  1811.  Dr.  Isaac  V.  Van 
Voorhis  was  also  from  the  State  of  New  York,  and  appointed 
surgeon's -mate  in  1811.  Both  are  supposed  to  have  been  un- 
married. Capt.  William  Wells  was  a  brother  of  Col.  Samuel 
Wells,  a  prominent  man  in  Kentucky.  Lieut.  Linai  T.  Helm, 
also  in  the  Fort,  who  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Adjutant-General's 
letter,  but  who  is  mentioned  in  the  various  histories  of  the 
massacre  as  among  the  wounded  and  prisoners,  (as  also  is  his 
wife),  was  appointed  ensign  in  1807,  (State  not  given),  and  pro- 
moted to  be  captain  in  April,  1814,  and  resigned  in  September 
of  the  same  year.  He  married  Margaret,  a  daughter  of  Capt. 
McKillup,  a  British  officer,  who  was  killed  near  Fort  Defiance, 
Ohio,  in  1794,  whose  "Ifcdow  married  the  original  John  Kinzie, 
called  by  the  Indians^Shaw-nee-aw-kee,  meaning  silversmith, 
she  was  half-sister  to'john  H.  and  Robert  A.  Kinzie. 

Capt.  Helm  left  an  only  child.  Wrr^.  Edwin  Helm,  who  lived 
Gen.  Hunter,  until  the  war  ot  the  Rebellion;  he  then  went 
into  the  army,  and^no'i'or  being  heaid  fluni,  io  juppuaed,  by  his 
relatives,  rOSwtrc-been  killed  in  the  war.     Others  rlm'm  thit  ITT 
i    lici*i4Ljil   ^l    TTTIIJ'I      Capt.  Linai  T.  Helm  was  son  of 
VUliam  Willis  Helm,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  of  Prince-William 

County,  Va.,  who  married Taliafero,  of  Caroline  County. 

Virginia.  Capt.  Helm  is  said  to  have  died  whilst  traveling  at  the 
East,  about  1817,  at  or  near  Bath,  Steuben  County,  N.Y. 

Capt.  and  Mrs.  Margaret  Helm  were  married  in  Detroit,  1808, 
and  after  his  death  she  married,  at  Chicago,  1836,  Dr^JuicJxis. 
.^l^fltk  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  died  in  1845,  at  Grand  Rapids, 
tJU'Mich.  He  was  appointed  assistant- surgeon  from  Connecticut, 
Jan.  15,  1828,  and  resigned,  March  31,  1834.  After  his  wife's 
death  he  returned  to  Connecticut,  and  died  there. 

Capt.  Helm  had  a  brother,  Francis  T.  Helm,  who  was  ap- 
pointed lieutenant  from  New  York,  in  1814,  and  left  the  army  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  1815;  he  had  a  son,  Charles  J.  Helm,  who 
was  appointed  first -lieutenant  from  Kentucky,  March  8,  1847, 
and  served  in  the  army  until  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war;  who 
married  Louise,  daughter  of  Col.  William  Whistler,  now  living  at 
Xewport,  Ky.,  and  sister  of  Mrs.  Robt.  A.  Kinzie.  He  was  aid- 
de-camp  to  Gen.  John  S.  Wool. 

The  details  of  the  massacre  would  require  more  time  than  I 
have  to  spare  on  this  occasion.  I  have  given  all  that  the 


BY    HON.    JOHN    \YKNT\VQRTH.  I/ 

records  at  Washington  show.*  Next  to  them  in  importance  are 
the  contemporaneous  accountst  copied  into  American  Stale 
Papers;  and  also  into  Niles'  Register  of  1812,  1813,  and  1814. 
Next  is  the  Narrative  of  the  Afassacre  of  Chicago,  by  John  H. 
Kinzie,+  who  was  a  boy  here  at  the  time,  having  been  born  in 
Sandwich,  Upper  Canada,  July  7,  1803,  published  in  1844.  Next, 
Brown's  History  of  Illinois;  and  next,  Annals  of  the  West,  pub- 
lished at  St.  Louis,  in  1851;  History  of  the  Maumee  Valley,  by 
H.  S.  Knapp;  McBride's  Pioneer  Biography;  Lossing's  Field  Book 
of  the  War  of  1812;  Brice's  History  of  Fort  Wayne.  Upon  this 
matter  and  many  others  appertaining  to  the  early  history  of 
Chicago,  Mrs.  Juliette  A.  Kinzie's  Wau-bun,  published  in  1855, 
is  very  instructive;  but  it  is  not  properly  appreciated  because 
it  is  written  in  the  shape  of  leisure  sketches  instead  of  con- 
secutive history.  Those  who  think  lightly  of  her  work  should 
call  at  my  office  and  copy  a  thorough  index  of  it,  which  I  have 
made,  and  they  will  find  that  Wau-bnn  is  a  historic  treasure. 
Robert  Fergus,  of  this  City,  is  publishing  a  very  valuable  series 
of  pamphlets  upon  Early  Chicago,  in  which  much  respecting  this 
massacre  is  given.  There  is  also  something  in  Blanchard's  History 
of  Chicago  and  the  North-  West.  After  a  diligent  search  at  the  var- 
ious Departments,  I  can  not  find  that  any  of  the  soldiers  here  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre,  nor  that  any  of  their  descendants,  have 
applied  for  a  land-warrant  or  a  pension.  So  I  have  been  unable 
to  procure  for  you  the  names  of  any  descendants  of  those  ^hose 
lives  were  preserved,  nor  can  I  give  you  the  names  of  those 
whose  lives  were  lost,  except  those  published  in  the  papers  about 
the  time,  nor  the  names  of  any  living  descendants.  The  com- 
pany-roll can  not  be  found.  Yet  I  will  give  to  whatever  his- 
tory this  address  may  acquire  the  names  of  the  soldiers  and  of 
others  I  have  found  out,  and  perhaps  some  family  genealogist 
may  yet  do  what  I  have  been  unable  to  do.  The  following 
soldiers  reached  Plattsburg,  New  York,  in  1814,  after  being 
redeemed  as  British  prisoners  at  Quebec,  Canada:  James  Van 
Horn,  Joseph  Knowles,  Paul  Grummon,  (or  Grummow  or  Grum- 
mond  or  Gromet),  Elias  Mills,  James  Bowen,  Nathan  Edson, 

*  See  Appendix  B.         t  See  Appendix  C. 

J  The  Massacre  of  Chicago,  was  written  by  Mrs.  John  H.  Kinzie,  and  pub- 
lished by  Ellis  &  Fergus,  printers,  Saloon  Buildings,  Chicago,  in  1844.  The 
copy  was  written  in  a  half-bound  blank-book,  small  letter-page,  of  about  four 
quires,  in  Mrs.  Kinzie's  handwriting.  Shortly  after  its  publication,  Judge 
Henry  Brown  issued  his  History  of  Illinois,  and  he  copied  Mrs.  Kinzie's 
pamphlet,  which  made  two  chapters  of  his  history.  Mrs.  K.  said  that  "the 
Judge  had  no  right  to  take  the  Massacre,  or  to  make  the  alterations  which 
he  made." — R.  FERGUS,  June  I4th,  1881. 


I 8  FORT   DEARBORN. 

Dyson  Dyer,  James  Corbin,  and  Phelim  Corbin,  whose  wife  (Mrs. 
Corbin)  was  inhumanly  massacred.  Mrs.  Holt,  wife  of  Sergeant 
Holt,  is  mentioned  as  having  afterward  lived  in  Ohio.  Sergeant 
Hays  was  killed.  A  soldier  named  Cooper*  was  killed,  but  his 
family  was  saved. 

Among  the  soldiers  who  were  killed,  or  who  died  from  expos- 
ure after  the  massacre,  were  John  Neads,  Hugh  Logan,  August 
Motte,  and Nelson  from  Maryland,  t 

During  my  residence  in  Chicago,  I  have  made  repeated  efforts 
to  trace  out  some  descendant  or  relative  of  Capt.  Nathan  Heald 
without  success.  After  I  began  to  write  this  address,  I  felt  more 
anxious  than  ever  to  learn  something  more  of  him,  and  addressed 
letters  to  various  places  seeking  information.  Luckily,  one  of  my 
letters  reached  a  gentleman  who  knew  a  son  of  his,  and  he  lost 
no  time  in  seeing  him  and  some  neighbors  who  also  knew  the 
family;  and  in  hastening  to  me  the  following  statements,  gathered 
in  a  short  interview;  being  remembrances  of  what  they  had  heard 
from  his  parents,  they  having  read  nothing  upon  the  subject  and 
not  thinking  that  there  was  anyone  at  this  late  day  feeling  any  in- 
terest in  it : 

"Capt.  Nathan  Heald  was  married  in  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
May  23d,  1811,  to  Rebekah  Wells,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and 
daughter  of  Col.  Samuel  Wells,  of  that  place.  They  started  at 
once  for  Fort  Dearborn,  and  went  all  the  way  on  horseback. 
She  rode  a  beautiful  and  \vell-trained  bay  mare,  upon  which  the 
Indians  ever  looked  with  longing  eyes.  They  made  several 
attempts  to  steal  her.  She  was  riding  her  when  the  attack  was 
made,  and  the  Indians  considered  her  one  of  the  greatest  trophies 
of  the  battle.  Great,  but  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  to  repur- 
chase her.  Gen.  Hull  sent  Capt.  Win.  Wells,  with  about  thirty- 
two  friendly  Indians,  to  escort  Capt.  Heald  to  Fort  Wayne. 

*  See  Appendix  D. 

t  When  the  last  Fort  was  taken  down,  in  1856,  an  old  paper  was  found, 
reading  as  follows: 

-  "Permission  is  hereby  given  for  one  gill  of  whiskey  each:  Denison,  Dyer, 
Andrews,  Keamble  (may  be  Kimball  or  some  other  name  beginning  with  K), 
Burnain,  J.  Corbin,  Burnett,  Smith,  McPher- 
son,  Hamilton,  Fury  [not  certain],  Gramond 
[or  Grummon,  or  Grummow,  or  Grumet],  Mor- 
fitt  [or  Marfett],  Lynch,  Locke  [or  Locker], 
Peterson,  P.  Corbin,  Van  Horn,  Mills. 

November  I2th,  1811." 

The  most  of  the  names  had  been  partially  erased  with  pen  and  ink,  probably 
to  show  that  they  had  received  their  whiskey.  Therefore,  some  of  the  names 
may  be  erroneous. 


From  a  portrait  in  possession  of  her  son,  Hon.  Darius  Heald. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  19 

There  were  in  Fort  Dearborn  only  twenty-five  or  thirty  fighting 
men.  The  others  were  upon  the  sick-list.  It  was  in  the  very  hot 
weather  of  August.  The  order  to  vacate  created  no  dissatisfac- 
tion at  Fort  Dearborn  or  vicinity,  except  with  the  sutler  or  store- 
keeper, interpreters,  traders,  and  that  whole  class  who  felt  that 
their  occupation  would  be  gone  if  the  Fort  should  be  abandoned. 
They  are  the  persons  who  have  handed  down  all  the  reflections 
upon  Capt.  Heald's  conduct  in  leaving  the  Fort.  When  the 
soldiers  had  proceeded  about  one  and  a-half  miles  from  the  Fort, 
they  were  surprised  and  surrounded  by  about  600  Indians  who 
had  formed  in  a  horse-shoe  or  semi-circular  shape  upon  the  bluff. 
The  troops  were  upon  the  lake  shore.  Capt.  and  Mrs.  Heald 
were  riding  together.  Capt.  Wells  was  somewhat  in  advance, 
dressed  in  Indian  costume,  with  his  Indian  forces.  Capt.  Wells 
first  noticed  'the  design  of  the  Indians  and  rode  back  and  in- 
formed Capt.  Heald,  who  at  once  started  for  the  most  elevated 
point  upon  the  sand-hills,  and  endeavored  to  mass  his  wagons, 
baggage,  women,  and  children,  and  sick  soldiers,  so  as  to  make 
a  better  defence  whilst  the  fight  was  going  on.  At  the  first 
attack,  Capt.  Wells'  Indians  made  their  escape.  Early  in  the 
fight,  Capt.  Heald  and  his  wife  became  separated.  Capt.  Wells 
rode  up  to  Mrs.  Heald,  with  blood  streaming  from  his  mouth  and 
nostrils,  and  told  her  that  he  thought  he  had  been  fatally 
wounded,  and  requested  her  to  inform  his  wife  that  he  had  fought 
bravely  and  knew  that  he  had  killed  seven  Indians  before  he  was 
shot.  Soon  his  horse  was  shot,  and,  as  the  horse  fell,  his  foot 
was  caught  in  the  stirrup  and  he  was  held  under  the  dead  horse 
some  time.  Whilst  in  this  position,  he  killed  his  eighth  Indian. 
He  was  released  from  this  position  just  in  time  to  meet  his 
death  from  a  bullet  in  the  back  of  his  neck.  The  Indians  im- 
mediately scalped  him,  cut  out  his  heart  and  flourished  it  about 
upon  a  gun-stick,  then  divided  it  into  small  pieces  and  ate  it 
whilst  warm,  Mrs.  Heald  being  a  witness.  She  was  led  back  to 
the  Fort  as  a  prisoner. 

"Capt.  Heald  received  a  wound  in  the  hip  which  always 
troubled  him,  and,  it  is  believed,  caused  his  death  in  1832.  He 
drew  a  pension  in  consequence  thereof.  Having  but  about  a 
half-dozen  men  left  in  a  fighting  condition,  Capt.  Heald  surren- 
dered. The  Indians  returned  to  the  Fort,  plundered  and  burned 
it.  They  then  camped  along  the  lake  shore,  near  the  Fort.  The 
next  morning,  an*  Indian  chief,  named  Jean  Baptist  Chandonais, 
who  was  a  half-breed,  having  possession  of  Capt.  Heald  as  his  pris- 
oner, sought  out  the  captor  of  Mrs.  Heald  and  purchased  her. 
She  had  supposed  that  her  husband  was  killed.  Chandonais  took 


20  FORT   DEARBORN. 

Mrs.  Heald  to  her  husband.  She  had  received  six  wounds. 
When  the  Indians  were  leading  her  away  as  prisoner,  one  of  the 
squaws  attempted  to  take  a  blanket  from  her,  when  she,  with  her 
riding-whip,  struck  her  several  times ;  which  act  of  bravery,  under 
the  circumstances,  greatly  excited  the  admiration  of  the  Indians. 
The  next  day,  the  chief  Chandonais  took  all  the  warriors  with  him 
for  the  purpose,  it  was  said,  of  burning  a  prisoner,  leaving  .Capt. 
Heald  and  wife  in  charge  of  the  squaws  and  a  young  Indian  boy. 
That  evening,  through  the  assistance  of  the  boy  who  accom- 
panied them,  and  probably  with  the  assent  of  Chandonais,  they 
made  their  escape  in  a  birch-bark  canoe  to  Mackinaw,  and  finally 
reached  Detroit,  where  Capt.  Heald  surrendered  himself  as  a 
prisoner  of  war.  The  British  officer  in  charge  was  a  Mason  as 
well  as  Capt.  Heald.  This  officer  greatly  assisted  them  and, 
when  exchanged,  he  gave  them  money  to  take  them  home. 

"The  Indians  took  from  Capt.  Heald  a  large  ornamental  silver 
shawl  or  blanket-pin,  marked  R.  A.  M.,  and  from  Mrs.  Heald  a 
tortoise-shell  comb  mounted  with  gold,  and  they  were  finally  sold 
at  St.  Louis,  where  Lieut.  John  O'Fallon,  a  U.S.  officer  from 
Kentucky,  recognized,  purchased,  and  sent  them  to  Louisville, 
Ky.,  where  they  arrived  before  Capt.  and  Mrs.  Heald. 

"Capt.  Heald  and  wife  came  to  St.  Charles  County,  Mo.,  in 
the  sprihg  of  1817,  and  settled  at  Stony  Point,  near  the  town  of 
O'Fallon  in  that  county,  where  they  resided  until  his  death,  April 
rt  27th,  1832,  aged  fifty-seven  years.  Mrs.  Heald  remained  there 
also  until  her  death,  April  230!,  1857,  aged  eightv-one  years.  She 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  was  greatly 
respected  for  her  great  firmness  and  kindness.  They  were  buried 
upon  the  home  place.  Mrs.  Heald  left  a  manuscript  history  of 
her  horseback  tour  from  Louisville,  in  1811,  to  Chicago,  of  her 
life  whilst  at  Chicago,  and  of  the  massacre,  andTier  final  return 
to  St.  Louis.  But  it  was  lost  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 

"They  had  two  daughters,  both  now  dead,  Margaret  dying 
single  in  1836,  aged  twenty,  and  Mary  (the  oldest)  dying  in  1835, 
the  wife  of  Capt.  David  McCausland,  who  still  survives  her. 
They  had  a  son,  Darius,  born  January  27th,  1822,  and  still  lives 
upon  the  home  place,  near  O'Fallon.  He  represented  St.  Charles 
County  in  the  Missouri  Legislature  in  1856-59.  Col.  Samuel 
Wells,  father  of  Mrs.  Heald,  was  a  noted  Indian -fighter  and 
brother  of  Capt.  William  Wells. 

"Chandonais  and  his  son  visited  Major  Heald  in  the  fall  before 
his  death,  and  passed  some  days  with  him,  recounting  the  scenes 
of  the  massacre  and  calling  to  mind  the  incident  of  the  blanket." 

I  find  the  following  in  Gardner's  Military  Dictionary: 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  21 

Samuel  Wells  was  from  Kentucky.  Major  in  Adair's  Mounted 
Volunteers,  in  1793;  Major,  and  distinguished  himself  in  battle 
of  Tippecanoe,  Nov.  7,  1811;  Colonel  of  i7th  Infantry,  1812; 
disbanded  with  regiment,  May  12,  1814;  Major-General  of  Ken- 
tucky Militia. 

William  Wells,  brother  of  above,  was  from  Kentucky,  was  cap- 
tain commanding  company  of  spies,  under  Maj.-Gen.  Anthony 
Wayne,  from  July  28,  to  December,  1794. 

William  Wayne  Wells,  son  of  Capt.  William,  was  appointed 
cadet  at  West  Point  from  Indiana,  September,  1817;  second-lieu- 
tenant, 1821;  first-lieutenant,  1825;  resigned  July  31,  1831,  and 
died  in  1832.  [Died  on  board  the  Steamer  Superior,  off  Erie, 
Pa.,  whilst  returning  home.] 

All  accounts  agree  that  the  massacre  took  place  about  one  mile 
and  a-half  south  from  the  Fort.  It  was  pointed  out  to  me  in 
1836,  and  the  historic  bluffs  or  sand-hills  existed  for  many  years 
thereafter. 

Medore  B.  Beaubien,  son  of  Gen.  John  B.  Beaubien,  sends  me, 
by  his  brother,  Alexander,  who  has  just  returned  from  a  visit  to 
him,  at  Silver  Lake,  Shawnee  County,  Kansas,  the  following  to 
read  to  you : 

"I  was  born  at  Grand  River,  Michigan,  in  1809,  and  came  to 
Chicago  with  my  father,  in  1813,  and  walked  over  the  ruins  of 
the  old  Fort  that  was  burnt  by  the  Indians.  After  me,  all  father's 
children  were  born  in  Chicago." 

[At  this  point  Mr.  Wentworth  caused  a  general  commotion  in 
his  audience  by  saying:] 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  recess  by 
introducing  to  you  a  gentleman  who  unexpectedly  called  upon  me 
yesterday,  andwhom  I  believe  you  will  all  be  glad  to  know.  Hon. 
Darius  Heald,  of  O'Fallon,  St.  Charles  County,  Mo.,  son  of  Capt. 
Nathan  Heald,  commandant  of  the  Fort  at  the  time  of  the 
massacre,  who  came  here  on  purpose  to  witness  the  ceremonies 
of  this  day. 

[Mr.  Heald  came  forward  amid  great  cheering  and  thanked  the 
people  for  their  reception."  He  exhibited  the  shawl-pin,  into  the 
rim  of  which  the  Indians  had  made  a  hole,  so  as  to  wear  it  in 
their  ear  or  nose.  It  was  the  opinion  of  many  that  it  might  have 
been  made  here  by  our  original  John  Kinzie,  who  was  a  silver- 
smith at  one  time.  He  then  exhibited  his  mother's  bridal  comb, 
which  attracted  great  admiration  from  the  ladies;  having  been 
well  preserved.  The  shell  was  cut  in  the  shape  of  an  eagle,  and 
it  was  plenteously  studded  with  gold  so  as  to  represent  the  eagle's 
wings.  Mr.  Heald  said  he  had  heard  his  mother  say  that,  whilst 


22  FORT   DEARBORN. 

she  was  writhing  in  pain  from  her  many  wounds  and  lying  upon 
the  ground,  she  saw  an  Indian  chief  strutting  around  with  that 
comb  in  his  hair.  Mr.  Heald  also  exhibited  a  small  ivory  minia- 
ture of  his  mother's  uncle,  the  massacred  Capt.  Wm.  Wells,  and 
of  his  own  grandfather,  Col.  Samuel  Wells.] 

There  is  no  doubt  but  the  Indians,  who  resided  within  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  Fort,  were  friendly,  and  did  their  best  to 
pacify  the  numerous  warriors  who  flocked  here  from  the  more 
distant  hunting-grounds.  But  they  were  so  determined  upon 
warfare  that  they  proceeded,  directly  after  the  massacre,  to  Fort 
Wayne,  and  joined  the  Indians  there  in  a  continued  assault  upon 
the  Fort,  until  relieved  by  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Harrison,,  on  th*e  1 6th 
September,  following.  Scarcely  a  person  escaped  the  massacre 
who  did  not  have  some  kind  words  to  say  of  some  friendly  Indian 
whose  acquaintance  had  been  previously  formed. 

The  Adjutant-General  writes  to  me  that  his  records  only  show 
that  the  post  was  reoccupied  about  June,  1816,  Capt.  Hezekiah 
Bradley  commanding.  The  troops  continued  in  occupation  until 
October,  1823,  when  the  post  was  evacuated,  and  left  in  charge 
of  the  Indian -agent.  It  was  reoccupied,  October  3d,  1828. 
Nothing  is  on  file  respecting  the  rebuilding  of  the  Fort. 

When  I  was  in  Congress,  under  the  second  term  of  President 
Tyler,  in  1843  and  '44,  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun  was  Secretary 
of  State,  and  I  remember,  in  a  conversation  with  me  about 
Chicago,  that  he  claimed  that  the  Fort  was  completed  under  the 
early  part  of  his  term  as  Secretary  of  War,  and  he  asserted  that 
there  was  a  disposition  among  the  officers  here  to  call  it  Fort 
Chicago;  but  he  thought  it  would  be  disrespectful  to  Gen.  Henry 
Dearborn,  then  living  and  standing  high  in  the  affections  of  the 
people,  and  having  a  claim  upon  their  gratitude  as  a  soldier  and 
statesman.  Calhoun's  term  commenced  with  the  inauguration  of 
President  Monroe,  March  4th,  1817.  The  building  of  the  Fort  in 
1816,  may  have  been  the  cause  or  the  result  of  the  treaty  of  that 
year,  in  which  the  Pottawatomies  ceded  to  the  United  States  all 
the  country  in  this  region,  described  as  the  country  upon  the 
headwaters  of  Lake  Michigan.  They  were  to  be  paid  $5700 
yearly,  and  their  number  was  estimated  at  three  thousand  and 
four  hundred.  They  remained  the  peaceful  occupants  of  all  they 
wanted  until  after  my  arrival,  Oct.  25,  '36.  Our  old  settlers  received 
a  very  welcome  visit  not  long  since  from  Col.  John  T.  Sprague, 
who  made  himself  very  popular  here  whilst,  as  a  second-lieu- 
tenant, collecting  the  scattered  bands,  and  making  arrangements 
to  take  them  to  their  new  home,*  where  they  have  ever  remained 

*  See  Sketch  of  the  Potta'vatomies,  by  J.  D.  Cat  on,  No.  3,  Fergus'  Hist.  Series. 


BY   HON.   JOHN    WENTWORTH.  23 

contented,  and  from  whom  we  often  hear  through  their  agent,  a 
member  of  the  first  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Original  Town  of 
Chicago,  in  1833,  Medore  B.  Beaubien,  now  mayor  of  their  com- 
mercial centre,  Silver  Lake,  Shawnee  County,  Kansas.  Colonel 
Sprague  was  son-in-law  of  Gen.  Wm.  J.  Worth,  and  won  honors 
in  the  Florida  and  Mexican  wars.  He  has  recently  deceased. 

Capt.  John  B.  F.  Russell  was  here  upon  detached  Indian-ser- 
vice, when  I  came,  and  superintended  the  Indians'  final  removal. 
He  entered  West  Point  from  Massachusetts,  in  1814,  was  made 
captain  in  1830,  and  resigned,  22d  June,  1837.  He  built  the  first 
public_hall  in  our  City,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Lake  and  Clark 
Streets,  known  as  "The  Saloon"  where  courts,  public  meetings, 
balls,  etc.,"  etc.,  were  held.  It  was  there  where  Stephen  A.  Doug- 
lass and  John  T.  Stuart,  candidates  for  Congress,  had  a  public 
discussion  in  1838.  He  was  the  first  man  to  establish  an  office 
for  the  sale  and  purchase  of  real  estate  and  payment  of  taxes  here. 
He  died  here  January  3,  1861,  leaving  a  widow  and  son,  both  still 
living  here. 

I  quote  from  a  paper  read  before  the  Chicago  Historical  So- 
ciety by  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  its  President,  upon  the  authority 
of  MiyJphn,H  KjrmVg  daughter,  Mrs.  Nellie  Gordon,  and  pub- 
lished ^n  the  Chicago  ^Tribune,  July  i8th,  1877: 

.  "In  1816,  the  Kinzie  family  returned  to  their  desolate  home  in 
Chicago.  The  bones  of  the  murdered  soldiers  who  had  fallen 
four  years  before,  were  still  lying  unburied  where  they  had  fallen. 
The  troops,  who  rebuilt  the  Fort,  collected  and  interred  the  re- 
mains. The  coffins  which  contained  them  were  deposited  near 
the  bank  of  the  river,  which  then  had  its  outlet  about  at  the 
foot  of  Madison  Street.  The  cutting  through  the  sand-bar  for 
the  harbor  caused  the  Lake  to  encroach  and  wash  away  the 
earth,  exposing  the  long  range  of  coffins  and  their  contents, 
which  were  afterward  cared  for  and  reinterred  by  the  civil  au- 
thorities."* 

Among  my  earliest  recollections  of  Chicago  was  seeing  pro- 
jections of  coffins  from  the  steep  banks  of  the  lake  shore,  south 
of  the  Fort,  about  Lake  Street. 

Capt.  Bradley  commanded  from  June,  1816,  until  May,  1817; 
Brevet-Major  Daniel  Baker, t  until  June,  1820;  then  Capt.  Bradley 
again,  to  Jan.  ist,  1821 ;  Maj.  Alexander  Cummings  to  Oct.,  1821 ; 
Lieut.-Col.  Jno.  McNeil  to  July,  1823;  Capt.  Jno.  Greene  to  Oct., 
1823.  They  are  all  dead ;  Bradley  dying  in  1826;  Baker  in  1836; 
Cummings  in  1842;  McNeil  in  1850,  and  Greene  in  1840.  None 
of  them  have  descendants  in  this  region  of  whom  I  ever  heard. 

*  See  No.  10  Fergus  Historical  Series,  p.  21.  t  See  Appendix  E. 


^ 


Pnever~TiacT''an  acquaintance  with  any  of  them,  except"  Col.  Mc- 
Neil, afterward  brevetted  Brigadier- General.  He  was  a  native 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  passed  his  last  years  there.  From  him 
I  received  my  earliest  impressions  .of  Chicago.  He  claimed  that 
his  daughter,  now  living,  the  widow  of  Hon.  Chandler  E.  Potter, 
of  Manchester,  N.H.,  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  new  Fort. 
I  met  her,  a  few  years  since,  walking  from  the  site  of  the  Fort, 
and  she  told  me  she  had  been  trying  to  find  her  birthplace. 
Another  daughter,  still  living,  is  the  wife  of  the  present  Gen. 
Henry  W.  Benham.  He  lost  his  only  son,  Lieutenant  J.  Win- 
field  Scott  McNeil,  in  an  engagement  under  Gen.  Hernandez, 
with  the  Indians,  in  Florida,  in  1837.  Gen.  McNeil  was  brother- 
in-law  of  President  Franklin  Pierce,  the  late  Lieut.  John  Sullivan 
Pierce,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Benjamin  K.  Pierce.* 

Gen.  McNeil  was  the  competitor  of  Gen.  Scott,  for  being  the 
tallest  and  heaviest  man  who  was  ever  in  the  American  army. 
Both  were  brevetted  for  their  gallantry  at  the  battle  of  Niagara, 
Canada,  in  1814,  where  McNeil  was  so  severely  wounded  that 

*  Lieut.  John  Sullivan  Pierce  married  Harriet,  Puthuff,  daughter  of  .the 
Indian-agent  at  Mackinaw,  who  was  a  Virginian,  ana  came  to  Mackinaw  about 
1818.  He  was  Wm.  Henry  Puthuff,  appointed  adjutant  from  Ohio,  May  7, 
1812;  major,  Feb.  21,  1814;  and  disbanded,  with  his  regiment,  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  in  1815.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Michigan  legislative  council  in 

1824,  and  died  in  November  of  that  year.     Lieut.  Pierce  died  at  Detroit,  in 

1825.  After  his  death,  and  that  of  her  father,  Mrs.   Pierce  went  to  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio,  with  her  two  children,  y^ 

Lieut.-Col.  Benjamin  K.  Pierce  married  Josette  Lafromboise,  when  he  was 
in  command  of  Fort  Mackinaw,  about  1815-16,  daughter  of  Joseph  Lafrom- 
boise, who  married  Madeline,  daughter  of  Jean  Baptiste  Marcotte,  a  fur- 
trader  of  Mackinaw,  who  married  a  woman  of  the  Ottawa  tribe  of  Indians. 
Mrs.  Pierce  died  in  Nov.,  1821,  leaving  Harriet,  who  married  Jas.  Brewerton 
Ricketts,  who  graduated  at  West  Point,  in  1839,  and  was  a  captain  in  1852. 
Mrs.  Rickets  did  not  live  long,  but  left  a  daughter  who  married  an  army  officer^ 
and  is  still  living.  Lt.-Col.  Pierce  married  again.  Joseph  Lafromboise  had  a 
Imaiden  sister  who  taught  a  young  ladies'  school  at  Mackinaw,  as  early  as  1 793 
\at  1794.  Madame  Madeline  Lafromboise,  after  she  was  thirty  years  of  age, 
I/educated  herself;  and  her  husband  having  been  killed  upon  the  Upper  Mis- 
/*  sissippi,  she  took  charge  of  his  business  and  continued  a  trader  in  the  Ameri- 


Wisconsin,  and  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  this"  information. 

The  Lafromboise  family  of  this  City,  claimed  relationship  to  that  of 
Mackinaw;  but  it  is  probable  that  our  Francis,  Sr. ,  was  no  nearer  related  than 
cousin  or  second-cousin  to  Joseph,  of  Mackinaw.  In  1826,  Francis,  Sr.,  voted 
here,  with  three  sons,  Joseph,  Claude,  and  Francis,  Jr.  Gen.  John  Baptiste 
Beaubien's  second  wife  was  Josette  Lafromboise,  daughter  of  Francis,  Sr. 
Medore  B.  Beaubien,  of  Silver  Lake,  Kan.,  son  of  Gen.  John  B.,  by  his  first 
wife,  now  has  for  his  second  wife  the  widow  of  Thomas  W olkyjs,  (a  clerk  in 
the  Chicago  postoffice,  in  jS.^lL  and  daughter  o.f  ouivJcfeefwXafromboise. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  2$ 

he  was  incapacitated  for  further  duty,  and  went  into  civil  service, 
being  at  one  time  surveyor-general  of  the  port  of  Boston.  I 
have  often  measured  with  both  these  distinguished  men,  and  I 
feel  safe  in  saying  that  those  who  have  seen  me  have  an  accurate 
idea  of  their  size  and  height. 

From  October,  1823,  the  Fort  was  in  charge  of  Dr.  Alexander 
Wolcott,  from  Connecticut,  the  uncle  of  our  present  and  long 
time-honored  county  surveyor,  named  for  him. 

There  was  an  Indian  trading-post  at  Chicago,  on  Lake  Michi- 
gan, in  Indiana  Territory,  in  1805.  Charles  Jouett,  from  Ken- 
tucky, (sometimes  written  Jewett),  was  Indian-agent  at  Detroit 
in  1803.  The  Chicago  agency  may  then  have  been  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Detroit  agent.  He  signed  his  name  afterward 
as  Indian -agent  at  Chicago.  Mathew  Irwin*  was  the  Indian- 

*  Mathew  Irwin,  sometimes  called  Indian-agent,  and  sometimes  Factory- 
agent,  at  Chicago,  in  1810,  received  $1165  salary.  Official  reports  show  that 
there  was  in  that  year  $4732  worth  of  merchandize  and  $877  worth  of  furs 
and  peltries,  and  that  the  factory -building  cost  $500.  Between  1807  and 
1811  the  profits  on  the  trade  at  Chicago  was  $3725.  From  the  1st  of  March 
to  the  massacre,  Charles  Jouett  appears  to  have  succeeded  Mr.  Irwin.  After 
the  Fort  was  rebuilt,  the  Indian  trade  commenced  again,  and  during  the  years 
1817-18-19,  there  were  191  Deer  skins,  71  Beaver  skins,  1182  Raccoon  skins, 
27>°77  Muskrat  skins,  and  16  Fox  skins  purchased.  These  were  sold  at 
Georgetown,  D.C.,  on  ninety  days'  credit.  Between  July,  1820,  and  Decem- 
ber, 1821,  Alexander  Wolcott,  as  Indian-agent,  paid  out  $27,600.  His 
salary  was  $1300.  John  Kinzie  received  $500  as  sub-agent.  In  1831-32, 
Thomas  J.  V.  Owen  was  Indian-agent,  and  disbursed  here,  during  the  year, 
$4987,  and  in  1832-33,  $64,593.  George  \V.  Dole,  (afterwards  alderman), 
is  paid  for  salt,  and  Messrs.  Beeson,  Winslow  &  Beeson  for  tobacco.  Col. 
Owen's  salary  was  $1300;  Gholson  Kerchival,  his  brother-in-law,  (afterward 
member  of  the  Legislature),  received  $524  as  sub-agent.  James  Stewart,  as 
sub-agent,  $375.  Billy  Caldwell,  (Sauganash)  interpreter,  $493.  David 
McKee,  (who  died  at  Aurora,  111.,  April  8th,  1881),  blacksmith,  $480, 
Joseph  Pothier,  (who  married  Victor  Miranda,  a  half-breed,  and  was  living  at 
Milwaukee,  at  last  dates),  assistant-blacksmith,  $220.  Dexter  Graves,  (father- 
in-law  of  the  late  E.  H.  Hadduck,  who  died  May  30,  1881),  assistant  in 
issuing  provisions.  John  Currin,  agriculturist  at  Carey  Mission.  [The  Carey 
Mission,  referred  to  in  this  note,  was  a  few  miles  from  Niles,  Michigan,  and 
was  under  charge  of  the  Baptists.  Not  far  from  it  in  the  same  county,  near 
where  Bertram,  Berrien  County,  now  is,  was  the  St.  Joseph  Mission,  under 
charge  of  the  Catholics.]  Robert  A.  Kinzie,  (son  of  John),  assistant  in  fur- 
nishing presents  to  the  Indians.  Isaac  Harmon,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  fees  for 
prosecuting  John  Welch  for  selling  liquor  to  Indians,  $2.82.  [He  was  brother 
to  Dr.  Elijah  Dewey  Harmon,  who  died  Jan.  3,  1869.*]  In  1833-4,  pay- 
ments were  made  to  some  of  the  same  persons,  and  also  to  John  S.  C.  Hogan, 
(postmaster),  Brewster,  Hogan  &  Co.,  William  See,  (Rev.),  blacksmith, 
John  Calhoun,  (publisher  of  Democrat},  Ferdinand  Seybold,  Clemens  Stose, 
(afterward  alderman,  and  now  living  at  SanFrancisco,  Cal. ),  Joseph  Bouche, 
or  Bushy,  James  Smallwood,  Peter  Pruyne,  (afterward  State  Senator),  and 
J.  S.  W.  Beeson. 

*  See  Early  Medical  Chicago,  No.   n  Fergus'  Historical  Series,  pp.   12 — 18. 


26  FORT   DEARBORN. 

agent  here,  in  1810.  Dr.  Alexander  Wolcott,'was  Indian-agent 
here  as  early  as  1820,  and  so  continued  until  his  death,  in  1830. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Col.  Thomas  J.  V.  Owen,  of  this  State, 
who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  April  5th,  1801,  and  was  one  of 
our  first  Board  of  Town  Trustees,  in  1833,  who  died  here  October 
1 5th,  1835,  whose  wife  (now  living  at  East  St.  Louis,  in  this 
State)  was  daughter  of  Hon.  Miles  Hotchkiss,  and  niece  of  our 
United  States  Senator,  Elias  K.  Kane.  If  you  will  go  down  to 
Lewiston,  in  Fulton  County,  you  will  find,  upon  the  list  of  mar- 
riages there,  the  following,  at  Chicago  precinct  of  that  county: 
"By  John  Hamlin,  J.P.,  July  2oth,  1823,  Alexander  Wolcott  and 
Ellen  Marion  Kinzie." 

Mr.  Hamlin  resided  at  Peoria,  and  was  on  his  way  home  from 
Green  Bay,  when  he  performed  the  ceremony.  Chicago  had 
neither  clergyman  nor  Justice-of-the-Peace  then.  But  this  trouble 
was  soon  avoided  by  the  appointment  of  her  father  as  one  of  the 
Justices-of-the- Peace  for  Fulton  County,  upon  the  zd  of  Decem- 
ber following.  We  had  to  wait  until  we  became  a  part  of  Peoria 
County  before  we  had  a  second  one,  who  was  Billy  Caldwell, 
(Sauganash),  who  was  appointed  April  i8th,  1826.  Mrs.  Wol- 
cott, remarried,  in  Detroit,  May  26,  1836,  Hon.  George  C.  Bates, 
of  that  City,  (where  she  died,  August  i,  1860,  leaving  Kinzie 
Bates,  born  there  April  19,  1838,  now  captain  in  U.  S.  Infantry,) 
more  recently  of  this  City,  but  now  of  Leadville,  Colo.  It  is 
claimed  that  she  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Chicago  [1805], 
the  place  of  her  birth  being  on  the  North-Side,  at  the  historic  home 
of  John  and  Eleanor  Kinzie,  and  I  know  not  why  she  can  not  be 
said  to  have  been  the  first  white  person  married  here.  The 
U.S.  Official  Register  of  1826,  shows  that  Wolcott's  salary  was 
$1300,  and  that  he  had  a  Sub-Agent,  Alexander  Doyle,  born  in 
Virginia,  at  a  salary  of  $500,  and  that  Mr.  Kinzie  drew  a  salary 
of  $500  as  Indian  interpreter;  and  Alexander  Robinson,  better 
known  as  Chechepinqua,  whose  descendants  still  reside  in  this 
City,  at  a  salary  of  $365 ;  and  also  Peresch  LeClerc,  a  Frenchman, 
well  known  after  I  came  here,  but  having  no  descendants  that  I  am 
aware  of,  at  a  salary  of  $432.  In  the  year  1823,  there  appears  to 
have  been  an  Indian -agent  or  factor  here  from  Connecticut, 
named  A.  B.  Lindsley,  at  a  salary  of  $1300,  of  whom  nothing  is 
now  known.  There  was  a  Jacob  B.  Varnum  here  as  factor,  as 
early  as  1817,  from  Massachusetts,  at  a  salary  of  $1300,  and  who 
was  continued  here  for  some  time  after  Dr.  Wolcott  came,  of 
whom  also  nothing  is  known. 

Mr.  Alexander  Beaubien  informs  me  that,  in  1866,  an  aged 
gentleman  called  to  see  him,  and  inquired  about  his  father.  He?  ._, 

-  ^c 


BY    HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  2/ 

said  he  lived  here  in  1820,  and  boarded  in  the  old  John  Dean 
house  with  his  father,  the  site  of  which  has  been  washed  away  and 
would  now  be  out  in  the  Lake,  if  it  had  not  been  filled  up.  He 
said  his  name  was  Varnum,  and  he  lived  then  in  Petersburg. 
Mr.  Beaubien  had  forgotten  whether  in  Kentucky  or  Virginia. 
John  Dean  was  a  post-sutler. 

The  Adjutant- General's  official  records  show  the  following: 
Upon  May  27th,  1823,  Major-General  Jacob  Brown,  General-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army,  issued  this  order: 

"The  Major-General,  commanding  the  army,  directs  that  Fort 
Dearborn,  Chicago,  be  evacuated,  and  that  the  garrison  thereof 
be  withdrawn  to  the  headquarters  of  the  3d  Regiment  of  Infantry. 

*  *  *  The  Commanding-General  of  the  eastern  depart- 
ment will  give  the  necessary  orders  for  carrying  these  movements 
into  effect,  as  well  as  for  the  security  of  the  public  property  at 
Fort  Dearborn." 

Thus  matters  stood  at  the  Fort  until,  Major-General  Brown 
being  dead,  his  successor,  as  General-in-Chief  of  the  Army,  Maj.- 
Gen.  Alexander  Macomb,  gave  the  following  order  under  date  of 
Washington,  August  igth,  1828: 

"In-  conformity  with  the  directions  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
the  following  movements  of  the  troops  will  be  made  without 
delay:  Two  companies  of  the  5th  Regiment  of  Infantry  to  re- 
occupy  Fort  Dearborn,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan,  the 
remaining  eight  companies  to  proceed  by  the  way  of  the  Ouis- 
consin  and  Fox  Rivers,  to  Fort  Howard,  Green  Bay,  where  the 
headquarters  of  the  Regiment  will  be  established." 

Mrs.  John  H;  Kinzie,  in  her  Wau-bun,  thus  alludes  to  this 
change  of  the  soldiers:  "The  troops  were  removed  from  the 
garrison  in  1823,  but  restored  in  1828,  after  the  Winnebago  war. 
There  was  a  disturbance  between  the  Winnebagoes  and  white 
settlers  on  and  near  the  Mississippi.  After  some  murders  had 
been  committed,  the  young  chief,  Red  Bird,  was  taken  and  im- 
prisoned at  Prairie  du  Chien  to  await  his  trial,  where  he  died  of 
chagrin  "and  the  irksomeness  of  confinement.  It  was  feared  that 
the  Pottawatomies  [our  Indians]  would  make  common  cause  with 
the  AVinnebagoes,  and  commence  a  general  system  of  havoc  and 
bloodshed  upon  the  frontier.  They  were  deterred  from  such  a 
step,  probably,  by  the  exertions  of  Billy  Caldwell  [ Sauganash], 
Robinson  [Chechepinqua],  and  Chamblee  [Shabonee],  who  made 
an  expedition  among  the  Rock-River  bands  to  argue  and  per- 
suade them  into  remaining  tranquil."* 

*  See  Sketch  of  Caldwell  and  Shabonee,  by  Wm.  Hickling,  in  No.  10  Fergus' 
Historical  Series,  pp.  29 — 46. 


28  FORT   DEARBORN. 

I  can  never  think  of  either  of  these  three  persons  without  being 
reminded  of  the  many  pleasant  and  instructive  hours  that  I  have 
passed  with  them  individually  and  collectively,  listening  to  their 
own  experience,  describing  battle  after  battle — the  massacre  at 
Chicago  and  the  battle  of  the  Thames  included — and  narrating 
personal  interviews  with  and  characteristics  of  Tecumseh,  Gen. 
Harrison,  and  Gen.  Wayne,  whom  they  always  called  "Old  Tem- 
pest." Caldwell  or  Sauganash*  died  with  his  tribe  at  Council 
Bluffs,  Iowa,  Sept.  28,  1841,  in  his  6oth  year,  childless.  His 
wife  died  before  he  left  here.  His  only  child,  Susan  Caldwell, 
died  here  in  1834.  Chamblee  or  Shabonee  died  near  Morris,  in 
Grundy  County,  in  this  State,  July  17,  1859,  aged  84  years,  whilst 
Robinson  or  Chechepinqua  lived  to  vote  for  me  several  times  for 
Congress,  and  to  call  on  me  as  mayor  and  smoke  the  pipe  of 
peace.  He  died  upon  his  reservation,  near  River  Park,  in  this 
county,  April  22,  1872,  aged  no  years.  Both  of  these  latter 
have  living  descendants. 

The  Winnebago  Indians  occupied  all  that  portion  of  Wisconsin 
Territory  bordering  on  Wisconsin  River,  numbering  about  1550, 
of  whom  500  were  warriors.  Hence  the  importance  of  making 
headquarters  at  Fort  Howard — Green  Bay — and  afterward  of  the 
construction  of  Fort  Winnebago,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Lieut.  Jefferson  Davis. 

Gen.  David  Hunter  writes  me  from  Washington,  under  date  of 
May  18,  1881:  "In  October,  1829,  I  saw  on  the  north  side  of 
the  River,  opposite  the  Fort,  a  white  man,  and  wondering  where 
he  could  have  come  from,  I  got  into  a  small  wooden  canoe,  in- 
tended for  only  one  person,  and  paddled  over  to  interview  him. 
He  introduced  himself  to  me  as  2d-Lieut.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  the 
ist  Infantry,  from  Fort  Winnebago,  in  pursuit  of  deserters.  I,  of 
course,  was  very  glad  to  see  Lieut.  Davis.  I  invited  him  to  lie 
down  in  my  canoe,  and  I  paddled  him  safely  to  the  Fort.  He 
was  my  guest  until  refreshed  and  ready  to  return  to  Fort  Winne- 
bago. This,  no  doubt,  was  the  first  visit  of  Jefferson  Davis  to 
Chicago." 

[At  this  point  of  his  address,  Mr.  Wentworth  asked  pardon  for 
the  following  digression.] 

As  I  was  starting  for  this  assemblage,  I  purchased  the  three 
o'clock  Evening  Journal,  and  was  greatly  surprised  to  learn  that 
Mr.  Davis  arrived  in  this  City  this  morning.  I  immediately 
drove  to  his  hoteland  found  that  he  was  absent.  I  intended  to 
have  invited  him  to  come  here  and  address  you.  He  could  tell 
you  many  things  of  interest  about  the  North-West  in  early  times. 

*  See  Appendix  F. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  29 

And  I  know  he  would.  For,  when  he  and  I  were  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  together,  he  was  accustomed  to  inquire  for  our 
early  families,  and  to  narrate  many  pleasant  incidents.  I  know 
you  would  have  given  him  a  cordial  reception.  I  think  we  must 
have  nearly  a  thousand  of  his  soldiers,  in  the  late  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  amongst  us  doing  business,  and  we  had  rather  have 
more  than  less  of  them.  Chicago  has  ever  been  a  hospitable,  as 
well  as  a  cosmopolitan  city.  She  welcomes  emigrants  from  all 
climes  and  of  all  sentiments.  As  early  as  1826,  we  had  an 
Indian  chief,  who  fought  against  us  in  the  war  of  1812,  for 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  we  have  had  officers,  as  well  as  citizens, 
of  every  diversity  of  sentiment  and  nativity  ever  since,  and  one 
of  the  great  elements  of  our  prosperity  has  been  that  we  make 
everyone  feel  at  home  here.  When  I,  as  your  Mayor,  went  to 
Montreal,  in  1860,  to  solicit  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  make  our 
City  a  visit,  the  great  obstacle  that  I  had  to  overcome  was  the 
fears  that  our  numerous  foreign  population  might  give  vent  to 
their  prejudices  against  royalty,  and  perpetrate  some  outrage. 
But  he  did  come,  and,  after  his  return  home,  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle wrote  me  that  nowhere  was  he  treated  so  satisfactorily  as 
in  Chicago.  And  yet  we  had  not  an  extra  policeman  during  his 
stay.  You  remember  how  it  was  in  1864,  at  the  time  of  the  great 
National  Convention,  when  Hon.  Clement  L.  Vallandigham,  who 
had  been  banished,  by  President  Lincoln,  for  his  treasonable 
efforts  into  the  rebel  country,  addressed  our  citizens,  in  the  even- 
ing, from  the  court-house  door-steps,  there  was  not  the  least 
disturbance,  and  every  policeman  was  performing  his  regular 
routine  duties.  And,  when  he  closed  and  I  was  called  upon  to 
respond  to  him,  I  was  treated  with  the  same  respect  by  his 
friends  that  he  had  been  by  mine.*  Now,  would  it  not  have 
created  a  sensation  throughout  the  country  if  it  could  have  been 
telegraphed  that  Jefferson  Davis  was  here  to-day  entertaining  us 
with  his  experience  in  Early  Chicago !  Such  a  despatch  would 
have  done  us  good  and  Mr.  Davis  good  also.  It  is  not  my  fault 
that  he  is  not  now  here. 

[Mr.  Davis  rode  within  one  block  of  the  tablet  whilst  Mr. 
Wentworth  was  speaking.  When  he  read  the  reference  to  him- 
self the  next  morning  and  learned  its  kind  reception  by  the 
audience,  he  expressed  his  regrets  at  not  being  present,  and 
especially  when  he  learned  that  Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan  was  upon 
the  stage.] 

The  companies  at  the  Fort,  from  Oct.  3d,  1828,  to  their  with- 
drawal, May  2oth,  1831,  were  companies  A  and  I  of  the  5th  In- 

*  See  Appendix  G. 


3O  FORT   DEARBORN. 

fantry.  Capt.  John  Fowle,  who  commanded  the  Fort,  was  from 
Massachusetts,  and  was  killed  April  25th,  1838,  by  a  steamboat 
explosion  on  the  Ohio  River.  His  ist-lieutenant  was  the  present 
Gen.  David  Hunter,  of  Washington  City,  whose  wife,  Maria  H. 
Kinzie,  daughter  of  John,  born  in  1807,  is  the  oldest  white  person 
nosv  living  who  was  born  in  Chicago.  A  2d-lieutenant  was  John 
G.  Furman,  from  South  Carolina,  who  died  at  the  Fort  on  August 
29,  1830.  Another  2d-lieutenant  was  Abram,  son  of  Martin  Van 
Buren  and  his  private-secretary  when  President.  There  was  an 
assistant -surgeon,  Clement  A.  Finley,  from  Ohio,  whose  last 
record  I  find  as  medical-director  under  Gen.  Taylor,  in  Mexico, 
in  1846.  The  second  company  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Mar- 
tin Scott,  from  Vermont,  who  was  killed  whilst  as  colonel  he  was 
leading  his  regiment  at  the  battle  of  El  Molino  del  Rey,  in 
Mexico,  Sept.  8,  1847.  James  Engle,  from  New  Jersey,  was  his 
second -lieutenant,  who  resigned  in  1834  and  died  soon  after. 
His  wife  was  here  with  him.  A  brevet  second-lieutenant,  from 
New  Hampshire,  Amos  Foster,  was  under  him  also,  a  brother  of 
the  late  Dr.  John  H.  Foster,*  of  this  City.  He  was  shot  by  a 
soldier  at  Fort  Howard,  Green  Bay,  February  7,  1832.  Engle, 
Foster,  and  Hunter  voted  at  an  election  in  the  Chicago  precinct 
of  Peoria  County,  on  July  24,  1830,  for  Justice-of-the-Peace  and 
Constable.  These  were  the  first  votes  ever  cast  here  by  military 
officers. 

On  March  31-,  1831,  Gen.  Macomb  issued  the  following  order: 
"The  Post  of  Chicago  will  be  evacuated  as  early  as  practicable, 
and  the  garrison,  consisting  of  two  companies  of  the  5th  Regiment 
of  Infantry,  will  proceed  to  Green  Bay  and  occupy  Fort  Howard." 

On  Feb.  23,  1832,  he  issued  this  order:  "The  headquarters  of 
the  2d  Regiment  of  Infantry  are  transferred  to  Fort  Niagara. 
Lieut. -Col.  Cummings,  with  all  the  officers  and  men  composing 
the  Madison  Barracks  at  Sacketts  Harbor,  will  accordingly  relieve 
the  garrison  of  Fort  Niagara,  and  Major  Whistler,  of  the  2d  In- 
fantry, on  being  relieved  byWol.  Cummings,  with  all  the  troops 
under  his  command,  will  repair  to  Fort  Dearborn  (Chicago)  and 
garrison  that  post. 

"Assistant-Surgeon  DeCamp,  now  on  duty  at  Madison  Bar- 
racks, is  assigned  to  Fort  Dearborn  and  will  accompany  the 
troops  ordered  to  that  post. 

"These  movements  will  take  place  as  soon  as  the  navigation 
will  permit." 

This  brings  us  to  the  second  crisis  in  the  history  of  Chicago, 

twenty  years  after  the  massacre,  when  the  settlers,  affrighted  by 

1*  S«e  Marly  Medical  Chicago,  No.  ia  Fergftt^Historical  Series,  page  30. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  31 

the  depredations  of  Black-Hawk's  warriors  with  their  wives  and 
children,  sought  refuge  in  the  Fort.*  Then  the  Asiatic  cholera 
came  and  they  fled  the  Fort,  but  dared  not  return  to  their  homes, 
and  thus  they  vibrated  between  the  Indians  and  cholera,  suffer- 
ing for  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  War  Department's  records 
say:  "Fort  Dearborn  having  become  a  general  hospital  on  July 
nth,  no  returns  were  received  until  its  reoccupation ;  companies 
G  and  I,  2d  Infantry  returned  to  the  Fort,  on  Oct.  ist,  from  cam- 
paign." This  refers  to  the  march  of  Gen.  Scott  to  Rock  Island 
in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk.  Our  Esquire  Sauganash  with  his  two 
friends,  Shabonee  and  Chechepinqua,  successfully  used  their  influ- 
ence to  keep  the  Indians  in  this  vicinity  in  amity.  Some  recent 
writers  have  asserted  that  the  coffins,  which  I  have  heretofore 
noticed,  contained  the  bodies  of  soldiers  who  died  of  the  cholera 
at  that  time.  But  I  served  in  Congress  with  Gen.  Humphrey 
Marshall,  of  Kentucky,  who  came  here  with  Gen.  Scott,  as  a  sec- 
ond-lieutenant, and  helped  bury  the  dead,  among  them  a  class- 
mate, Second-Lieutenant  Franklin  McDuffie,  of  Rochester,  New 
Hampshire,  who  died  July  i5th,  and  he  said  the  dead  were  thrown 
unceremoniously  into  a  pit,  and  oftentimes  those  helping  to  carry 
a  body  there  in  a  very  few  hours  had  to  be  thrown  in  themselves, 
and  the  soldiers  and  citizens  afterward  were  afraid  to  remove 
them.  Luther  Nichols,  who  died  May  2d,  1881,  in  this  City,  was, 
at  the  time,  a  regularly  enlisted  soldier,  the  last  to  reside  in  our 
City,  and  helped  bury  the  dead.  He  described  the  pit  as  at  the 
north-west  corner  of  Lake  Street  and  Wabash  Avenue.  Mr. 
Nichols  was  born  at  Gilbertsville,  Otsego  County,  New  York, 
in  1805,  and  enlisted  as  a  United-States  soldier  in  1828;  came 
to  Chicago  under  Major  Whistler,  and  was  honorably  discharged 
in  1833. 

Major  Whistler  arrived  here  on  June  lyth,  1832,  and  kept  com- 
mand until  May  14,  1833.  Surgeon  Samuel  G.  I.  DeCamp,  from 
New  Jersey,  of  whom  I  can  learn  nothing,  was  succeeded  in  1833 
by  Surgeon  Philip  Maxwell,  t  who  after  residing  here  for  several 

*  See  Appendix  H.  Also,  Gurdon  S.  HubbarcTs  Narrative,  in  No.  10, 
Fergus'  Historical  Series,  p.  41. 

t  Among  the  valuable  documents  which  fell  into  my  hands  whilst  collecting, 
material  for  the  history  of  Fort  Dearborn  was  a  book,  presented  by  I.  L. 
Usher,  Esq.,  of  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  which  I  have  deposited  with  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society.  It  is  entitled  "Medical  Prescription  Book  of  U.  S.  Army 
used  at  Fort  Dearborn. "  Some  leaves  have  been  torn  therefrom.  But  is  in 
a  good  condition  from  November,  1832,  until  the  evacuation  of  the  Fort, 
December  29,  1836.  Dr.  Philip  Maxwell  came  to  the  Fort  as  surgeon, 
February  3,  1833,  and  left  at  the  evacuation.  So  the  prescriptions  entered 
in  the  book  are  undoubtedly  his,  and  are  interesting  as  showing  the  great 
change  in  medical  practice.  The  name  of  Luther  Nichols  is  upon  the  sick-list, 


32  FORT   DEARBORN. 

years,  died  upon  his  farm  at  Geneva  Lake,  Wisconsin,  Novem- 
ber 5th,  1859,  aged  sixty  years.  He  was  a  member  of  our 
Legislature,  in  1848,  and  father-in-law  of  Joel  C.  Walter,  of 
this  City.  His  bust  is  one  of  those  upon  the  block  fronting 
the  Court  House,  on  the  east  side  of  Clark  Street.  He  was 
a  very  social  and  popular  man,  and  whenever  you  see  a  Chicago 
boy  write  his  name  Philip  M.,  you  can  tell  for  whom  he  was 
named.  The  captain  was  Seth  Johnson,  who  resigned  in  1836, 
and  ended  his  days  in  this  city,  leaving  descendants,  his  daughter 
Harriet  having  married  Josiah  E.  McClure,  of  this  City,  Jan.  8, 
1837.  In  1840,  he  was  Alderman  of  the  old  4th  ward,  when 
there  were  but  six  wards  in  the  City  and  only  two  upon  the  West 
Side,  his  ward  comprising  all  territory  north  of  Lake  Street,  his 
residence  being  in  old  Waubansia.  He  was  also  deputy-collector 
of  the  port  of  Chicago  when  it  belonged  to  the  Detroit  district. 
The  first-lieutenant  was  Julius  J.  B.  Kingsbury,  who  distinguished 
himself  in  the  Mexican  war  and  was  Major  when  he  resigned. 
He  passed  much  of  his  time  in  this  City  when  not  on  duty,  and, 
by  judicious  investment,  accumulated  a  large  fortune,  which  with 
the  aid  of  lawyers  is  likely  to  share  the  fate  of  most  large  fortunes 
before  it  passes  through  the  third  generation.  His  son,  inheriting 
his  father's  love  of  the  good  old  flag,  was  killed  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  leaving  an  infant  son.  His  daughter  married  Capt. 
Simon  Bolivar  Buckner,  from  Kentucky,  who,  after  winning  great 
honor  in  the  Mexican  war,  became  a  general  in  the  rebel  army. 
He  has  been  reconstructed  now  and  has  the  devout  sympathies  of 
the  numerous  friends  of  Major  Kingsbury,  in  his  efforts  to  save 
for  the  grandchildren  a  good  share  of  the  Kingsbury  estate.  I 
was  quite  intimate  with  Major  Kingsbury  and.  I  will  give  him  the 
credit  of  having  the  most  exalted  appreciation  of  a  soldier's  duty 
to  his  wife  and  children.  His  investments  here  were  not  a  matter 
of  speculation  but  a  sense  of  duty.  However  diminutive  his  salary 
and  wherever  stationed,  his  anxiety  for  the  future  of  his  family 
would  have  induced  savings  and  investments. 

There  were  three  second-lieutenants  here  who  left  with  Major 
Whistler,  in  1833,  and  never  returned  to  have  any  status  with  our 
Chicago  people.  Hannibal  Day,  of  Vermont,  who  was  a  captain 
in  1838;  James  W.  Penrose,  of  Missouri,  who  distinguished  him- 

March  10,  1833;  and  Sergeant  Joseph  Adams,  aged  eighty-six  years,  now 
living  at  South  Evanston,  in  this  county,  and  present  at  the  Calumet  Club's 
reception  to  the  Old  Settlers  on  the  igth  inst.,  was  prescribed  for  on  the  I5th 
of  March,  1835.  The  book  was  taken  to  Fort  Howard,  Green  Bay,  Wis., 
where  it  was  no  longer  used  for  its  original  purpose. 

See  also  Nos.  5  and  n,  Fergus'  Historical  Series,  Sketches  of  Dr.  Maxwell. 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  33 

self  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  was  brevetted  major,  and  died  at 
Plattsburg,  New  York,  in  1848;  and  Edwin  R.  Long,  of  North 
Carolina,  who  died  a  first-lieutenant  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  in  1846. 

In  May,  1833,  Capt.  John  Fowle  was  again  placed  in  command 
of  the  post  as  the  successor  of  Maj.  Whistler,  and  with  him  came 
Brevet-Major  De  Lafayette  Wilcox,  who  was  afterwards,  at  two 
periods  in  command  of  the  post,  ending  with  August  ist,  1836. 
Maj.  Wilcox  distinguished  himself,  was  wounded  in  war  of  1812, 
and  died  at  Pilatka,  Florida,  in  1842.  His  name  will  be  per- 
petuated through  our  legal  reports  as  representing  the  United 
States  in  the  celebrated  suit  of  Gen.  John  B.  Beaubien's  grantees 
or  lessees  to  gain  possession  of  the  land  upon  which  the  Fort  was 
situated  under  the  preemption  and  other  laws. 

Major  Wilcox,  and  a  second -lieutenant,  James  L.  Thompson, 
were  elected  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  The 
Chicago  Temperance  Society,  January  3Oth,  1834.  And  Che- 
che-pin-qua  (Alexander  Robinson)  joined  it.  He  created  a  sen- 
sation by  pulling  a  whisky-bottle  from  his  pocket  and  smashing 
it  with  his  tomahawk.  Philo  Carpenter,  still  living  here,  was 
secretary,  and  can  probably  tell  how  long  before  they  had  to 
erase  the  Indian  Chief's  name.  Yet  there  was  such  a  society 
before  this,  of  which  John  Watkins,  now  living  near  Joliet,  our 
first  public  school-master,  was  secretary,  in  1833,  and  he  may 
know  whether  Sauganash  and  Shabonee  had  not  preceeded  Che- 
che-pin-qua,  in  the  good  cause. 

With  Major  Wilcox  also  came  ist-Lieut.  Louis  T.  Jamison, 
from  Virginia,  who,  as  captain,  resigned  in  1838.  He  remained 
here  some  time,  and  will  be  remembered  by  all  our  old  settlers, 
marrying  for  his  second  wife,  (having  lost  his  first  one  here,  who 
was  from  the  Chippewa  tribe  of  Indians),  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Geo. 
W.  McClure,  from  New  York,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the 
war  of  1812,  was  an  early  settler  near  Dundee,  in  this  State,  and 
died  there  August  i6th,  1851,  aged  eighty. 

Capt.  JamisontoDecame  a  sutler  at  camp  Ringgold,  in  Texas, 
near  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  and  diedjyin  that  region. 
There  was  a  second  -  lieutenant,  John  T.  Collinsworth,  from 
Tennessee,  who  resigned  in  1836,  went  to  Texas,  where  he  was 
made  inspector  -  general,  and  died  there  January  28th,  1837. 
There  was  also  a  second-lieutenant,  James  Allen,  from  Ohio, 
uncle  of  Hon.  B.  F.  Allen,  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  he  was  the 
second  man  in  charge  of  our  Harbor  Works.  Among  the  young 
officers  ever  stationed  at  our  Fort,  he  is  the  most  favorably 
remembered,  and  was  the  most  of  a  society  man.  He  took 
naturally  to  the  company  of  which  our  nrarnisc*ji0us  population*. 


'/M, 


34  FORT   DEARBORN. 

was  composed.  There  could  be  no  social  gathering  without  an 
invitation  to  him.  He  was  one  of  the  people  all  the  time. 
When  he  went  away  to  join  his  company  the  citizens  unanimously 
and  successfully  petitioned  to  have  him  sent  back  to  be  placed 
in  charge  of  our  Harbor- Works.  The  present  Chief  of  Engineers, 
Gen.  A.  A.  Humphreys,  at  Washington,  writes  me,  "I  went  to 
Chicago  in  the  latter  part  of  Sept.,  1838,  and  relieved  Capt.  James 
Allen."  Mr.  Ail^.  Knickerbocker,  of  this  City,  has  presented  me, 
for  the  Historical  Society,  some  very  interesting  letters  of  his, 
showing  the  genial  character  of  the  man,  written  to  his  father,  of 
the  same  name,  who  was  for  many  years  clerk  of  the  Harbor 
Department.  Lieut.  Allen  was  made  captain  of  dragoons  in  1837, 
raised  a  brigade  of  Mormon  volunteers,  in  the  region  of  his  com- 
mand, for  the  Mexican  war,  and  died,  unmarried,  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth,  Aug.  23,  1846,  on  his  route  to  New  Mexico,  then  a  part  of 
the  enemy's  territory.  The  first  steamboat  built  in  our  City  was 
named  for  him.  It  was  built  near  the  forks  of  the  river,  on  the 
North-Side,  and  run  from  here  to  St.  Joseph,  Captain  Pickering. 
There  were  lively  times  on  its  deck  in  the  evening,  after  our 
young  folks  began  to  sing, 

"Come,  Uncle  Mark,*  tune  your  old  violin, 
And  give  us  a  dance  on  the  Jim  A\-lin. " 

On  the  1 9th  of  June,  1833,  our  Fort  had  a  new  commandant, 
Major  George  Bender,  from  Massachusetts,  who  resigned  his 
position  in  the  army  on  the  31*  of  October,  thereafter,  and  died 
in  Washington  City,  without  additional  military  service,  Aug.  2ist, 
1865.  He  commenced  the  work  upon  our  harbor,  the  first  appro- 
priation therefor,  of  $25,000,  having  been  made  in  1833,  the  year 
after  the  Black-Hawk  war,  its  importance  not  having  been  appre- 
ciated until  Gen.  Scott  was  compelled  to  send  his  soldiers  on 
shore  from  steamboats,  one-half  of  a  mile  out  in  the  Lake. 

Chicago  has  celebrated  many  occasions,  all  considered  great 
at  the  time.     But  the  commencement  of  the  harbor  was  the  first 
one.     There  are  several   now  living  who  remember  it.     Capt.^j 
Morgan  L.  Shapley,  of  Meridian,  Texas,  one  of  the  first  em- 
ployes, writes  me: 

"There  were  two  or  three  stores  on  South-Water  Street.  Mark 
Beaubien,  the  noted  fiddler,  had  a  hotel  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Street.  There  were  less  than  a  dozen  dwelling  shanties  in  the 
entire  town.  The  first  stone  was  procured  about  three  miles  up 
the  south  branch  of  the  river.  The  work  was  commenced  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river.  The  ties  and  timber  were  procured  upon 


BY   HON.  JOHN   WENTWORTH.  35 

the  Calumet  River,  and  were  rafted  into  the  Lake.  The  next 
year,  1834,  the  work  was  commenced  upon  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  Lieut.  James  Allen,  superintending." 

With  Major  Bender  came  Capt.  Joseph  Baxley,  from  Mary- 
land, who  continued  at  the  Fort  until  he  resigned  from  the  army 
•on  April  ist,  1836.  He  lived  with  us  some  years  thereafter,  but 
his  subsequent  history  is  unknown  to  me.  There  was  a  first- 
lieutenant,  Ephraim  Kirby  Smith,  from  Connecticut,  who  was 
here  until  December,  1836.  He  became  Major,  distinguished 
himself  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  mortally  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  El  Molino  del  Rey,  dying  September  nth,  1847,  near 
City  of  Mexico.  And  there  was  a  second-lieutenant,  from  Ten- 
nessee, James  L.  Thompson,  until  December,  1836,  who  resigned 
from  the  army,  May  i8th,  1846,  and  was  drowned  soon  after  in 
the  St.  Clair  River.  He  was  son-in-law  of  Gen.  Hugh  Brady. 

December  i8th,  1833,  Major  John  Greene,  heretofore  alluded 
to,  was  sent  back  as  successor  of  Major  George  Bender,  in  com- 
mand of  the  post,  who  continued  here  until  September  16,  1835. 
There  came  here,  October  i5th,  1835,  a  second-lieutenant,  Alex- 
ander H.  Tappan,  from  Ohio,  who  continued  until  September, 
1836,  and  resigned  from  the  army,  July  3151,  1838.  He  resided 
here  until  the  Mexican  war.  when  he  joined  Capt.  T.  B.  Kenny's 
company  of  the  ^th  Regiment  of  Illinois  Volunteers,  Col.  E.  W. 
B.  Newby.  He  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  at  Alton,  111.,  and  has  not  sirfce  been  heard  from. 

Capt.  St.  Clair  Denny,  from  Pennsylvania,  came  in  August, 
1836,  and  remained  until  the  Fort  was  abandoned.  He  resigned 
from  the  army,  April  3oth,  1839,  and  was  afterward  made  pay- 
master. I  know  nothing  further  of  him. 

The  last  commandant  of  the. post  was  Brevet-Major  Joseph 
Plympton,*  from  Massachusetts,  arriving  on  August  ist,  1836. 
He  remained  at  the  Fort  until  June  or  July,  1837,  although  the 
soldiers  were  withdrawn  on  December  agth,  1836,^  in  accordance 
with  the  following  order  of  Major-General  Alexander  Macomb, 
dated  November  3oth,  1836: 

"The  troops  stationed  at  Fort  Dearborn,  Chicago,  will  imme- 
diately proceed  to  Fort  Howard  and  join  the  garrison  at  that 
post.  Such  public  property  as  may  be  left  at  Fort  Dearborn  will 
remain  in  charge  of  Brevet-Major  Plympton,  of  the  5th  Infantry, 
who  will  continue  in  command  of  the  post  until  otherwise  in- 
structed." 

I  saw  the  last  sentinel  withdrawn  from  the  entrance,  and  the 
last  soldier  march  out,  and  I  heard  the  last  salute  fired  from  Fort 

*  See  Appendix  Q.^  t  See  Appendix  K. 


36  FORT   DEARBORN. 

Dearborn.*  For  a  while  we  missed  the  cannon's  discharge  at 
sunrise  and  sunset.  And  soon  sunrise  and  sunset  lost  their 
significance  in  the  measurement  of  Chicago  time. 

Major  Plympton  made  many  friends  here,  and  frequently  visited 
us.  His  wife  was  a  Livingston,  from  New  York.  He  was  brev- 
etted  a  colonel  for  his  meritorious  services  in  the  Mexican  war, 
after  having  distinguished  himself  in  the  Florida  war.  He  was 
promoted  to  colonel  in  1853,  and  died  June  5,  1860.  He  had  a 
son,  Peter  William  Livingston  Plympton,  who  graduated  at  West 
Point,  in  1847,  and  was  a  brevet-major  when  he  died,  at  Galves- 
ton,  Texas,  August  10,  1866,  aged  thirty-nine,  and  he  had  a 
brother,  Joseph  R.  Plympton,  now  living  at  Lake  City,  Florida, 
and  a  sister  Emily,  who  married  Capt.  Mansfield  Lovell,  a  grad- 
uate of  West  Point,  in  1842,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Mexican  war. 

The  Fort  was  afterward  taken  charge  of  by  the  superintendent 
of  the  harbor-works.  Lieut.  A.  A.  Humphreys,  (now  general), 
from  Pennsylvania,  succeeded  Capt.  Allen,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  2nd-Lieut.  Jesse  H.  Leavenworth,  from  Vermont,  who  resigned, 
October  3151,  1836,  to  become  civil-engineer,  but  was  retained 
in  government  employ;  and,  at  last  dates,  was  Indian-agent  at 
some  of  our  western  posts.  He  and  Mrs.  Leavenworth  are 
favorably  remembered  for  the  manner  in  which  they  made  the 
Fort  lively  with  their  frequent  elegant  entertainments.  They 
were  liberal  in  their  invitations,  and  if  their  guests  did  not  desire 
to  mingle  generally,  there  were  apartments  enough  in  the  Fort  to 
gratify  all  distinctive  nationalities,  conditions,  or  tastes;  all  amuse- 
ments being  in  order  from  psalm-singing  to  dancing  to  the  music 
of  Mark  Beaubien's  violin. 

Next  came  Capt.  John  McClellan,  from  Pennsylvania,  brother 
of  Gov.  Robert  McCleilan,  of  Michigan,  who  remained  until  the 
harbor  appropriation  was  expended,  and  then  he  went  to  the 
Mexican  war,  where  he  was  brevetted  lieutenant-colonel  for  meri- 
torious services,  and  died  soon  after,  unmarried. 

Then  came  the  late  Gen.  Joseph  D.  Webster,  from  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  ist-lieutenant,  who  constructed  the  first  Marine  Hospital, 
and  remained  in  charge  until  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  took 
possession  of  all  there  was  left  of  the  Fort-Dearborn  Reservation. 

I  have  taken  no  account  of  the  officers  who  came  here  with 
Gen.  Scott,  July  roth,  1832.  He  left  Buffalo  with  four  steamers, 

*  Opposite  the  name  Fort  Dearborn,  in  the  Army  Returns  for  the  year 
1837,  is  printed,  "Garrison  withdrawn  May  10,  1837,  and  Capt.  Louis  T. 
Jamison  is  the  only  person  connected  with  the  army  in  the  Fort. " 

See  letter  of  Sergeant  Joseph  Adams,  Appendix  K. 


BY    HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  3/ 

the  Henry  Clay,  Superior,  Sheldon  Thompson,  and  William  Penn. 
But  owing  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  cholera,  the  steamers  Henry 
Clay  and  Superior  were  sent  back  from  Fort  Gratiot.  I  have  a 
letter  from  Captain  A.  Walker,*  who  commanded  the  Sheldon 
Thompson  at  that  time,  saying: 

"The  disease  became  so  alarming  on  the  Henry  Clay  that 
nothing  like  discipline  could  be  preserved.  Everything  in  the 
way  of  subordination  ceased.  As  soon  as  the  steamer  came  to 
the  dock,  each  man  sprang  on  shore,  hoping  to  escape  from  a 
scene  so  terrible  and  appalling.  Some  fled  to  the  fields,  some  to 
the  woods,  whilst  others  lay  down  in  the  streets  and  under  the 
cover  of  the  river  bank,  where  most  of  them  died  unwept  and 
alone.  *  *  *  Fort  Dearborn  was  evacuated  for  the  accom- 
modation of  sick  troops.  Major  Wm.  Whistler  and  Capt.  Seth 
Johnson,  and  many  others,  with  their  families,  who  had  previously 
occupied  the  barracks,  took  shelter  wherever  they  could,  .some 
under  boards,  placed  obliquely  across  fences,  and  others  in  tents. 

*  *     The  Chicago  River,  at  that  time,  was  but  a  mere  creek, 
easily  forded  at  its  mouth,  whilst  it  wended  its  way  along  the 
beach,  flowing  into  the  lake  a  short  distance  south  of  the  present 
locality  of  Lake  Street.     *     *     *     The  only  means  of  obtaining 
anything  for  fuel  was  to  purchase  the  useless  log-building  used  as 
a  stable.     That,  together  with  the  rail-fence  enclosing  a  field  of 
some  three  acres  near  by,  was  sufficient  to  enable  our  boats  to 
reach  Mackinaw  on  our  return  trip." 

Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  sometime  after  the  Mexican  war,  told  me 
that  he  had  often  been  in  great  danger,  and  that  he  had  wit- 
nessed a  great  deal  of  suffering,  but  he  had  never  felt  his  entire 
helplessness  and  need  of  Divine  Providence  as  he  did  upon  the 
lakes  in  the  midst  of  the  Asiatic  cholera.  Sentinels  were  of  no 
use  in  warning  of  the  enemy's  approach.  He  could  not  storm 
his  works,  fortify  against  him,  nor  cut  his  own  way  out,  nor  make 
terms  of  capitulation.  There  was  no  respect  for  a  flag  of  truce, 
and  his  men  were  falling  upon  all  sides  from  an  enemy  in  his 
very  midst.  And  his  responsibilities  were  never  greater.  Indian 
massacres  were  demanding  his  utmost  haste,  and  there  were  with 
him  the  most  of  the  class  of  West-Point  graduates,  to  obtain  their 
first  lesson  in  Indian  warfare.  There  were  forty-five  in  the  class 
of  1832.  Twenty-nine  of  them  left  Buffalo  for  the  Black-Hawk 
war,  but  were  nearly  all  sent  back  from  Fort  Gratiot.  I  have 
their  names  and  official  record.t  Six  only  now  belong  to  the 
army,  and  of  these  six,  five  are  upon  the  retired  list,  leaving  only 
Col.  John  N.  Macomb,  of  the  Engineers,  in  active  service. 

*  See  Appendix  L.  t  See  Appendix  J. 


38  FORT    DEARBORN. 

Gen.  Ward  B.  Burnett,  a  member  of  that  class,  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, one  of  the  few  now  remaining,  and  the  only  one  known  to 
me,  visited  this  City  last  August,  and,  with  fresh  memory  gave 
me  a  full  description  of  the  scenes  of  those  times.  He  was  one 
of  those  sent  back  in  the  steamer  Hetiry  C!ay,  from  Fort  Gratiot. 
He  afterward  returned  here,  and,  under  the  direction  of  Capt. 
James  Allen,  he  superintended  the  first  harbor-works  at  Michi- 
gan City  and  St.  Joseph.  He  resigned,  July  3ist,  1836,  and 
became  an  engineer  upon  the  Illinois-and-Michigan  Canal,  and 
so  continued  until  the  suspension  of  the  work  thereon,  in  1840. 
He  afterward  went  into  the  Mexican  war,  and  so  distinguished 
himself  that  the  gold  snuff-box  was  presented  to  him,  which  had 
originally  been  presented  by  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  New 
York  to  Gen.  Jackson,  and  was  bequeathed  in  Gen.  Jackson's 
will  to  the  corporation  of  New  York  again,  in  trust,  for  the  best 
soldier  among  its  residents  in  the  next  war.  Gen.  Burnett  also 
distinguished  himself  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1835,  Chicago  had  a  sensation,  and  I  am 
sorry  that  I  was  not  here  to  enjoy  it.  But  many  now  living  were 
here.  I  have  enjoyed  almost  every  one  since.  Chicago  has 
ever  been  noted  for  its  sensations,  and  that  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  I  have  never  liked  to  leave  it.  You  can  not  find  any  other 
place  that  has  so  many  of  them.  Why  travel  about  when  there 
is  so  much  of  interest  transpiring  at  home?  On  that  day,  Gen. 
John  B.  Beaubien  went  to  the  public  land-office  and  purchased, 
for  ninety-four  dollars  and  sixty-one  cents,  the  entire  Fort-Dear- 
born Reservation.  He  derived  his  military  title  from  an  election 
by  the  people,  not  from  any  conspicuous  military  talents,  but  be- 
cause he  had  the  most  friends  of  any  one  in  town,  and  he  kept 
them  to  the  day  of  his  death.  The  State,  at  that  time,  was 
divided  into  military  districts,  and  the  people  elected  the  gen- 
erals. He  had  lived  upon  the  reservation  many  years,  and  he 
had  found  some  law,  which  satisfied  our  land-officers  that  he  was 
entitled  to  make  the  purchase,  the  same  as  many  others  have 
found  laws  under  which  they  could  purchase  our  Lake-Front  ever 
since.  The  news  spread.  Everybody  was  a  daily  paper  in  those 
days.  We  had  but  two  newspapers  then,  and  both  were  weeklies. 
The  people  assembled  in  squads  and  discussed  the  situation. 
The  question  was  raised:  did  Gen.  Beaubien  buy  the  Fort  with 
the  land?  What  were  the  officers  to  do?  There  was  no  telegraph 
in  those  days.  Gen.  Beaubien  was  congratulated.  He  had 
an  entire  Fort  of  his  own.  A  conflict  between  the  United  States' 
troops  and  the  State  militia  might  ensue.  Gen.  Beaubien,  him- 
self, was  in  command  of  the  militia.  Would  he  use  them  to 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  39 

dispossess  the  United  States'  forces?  Fancy  yourselves  here  at 
that  time,  and  remember  that  the  men  of  that  day  were  the  sub- 
stratum of  our  present  society,  and  you  can  appreciate  how  great 
a  day  that  of  May  28th,  1835,  was-  The  Receiver  of  Public 
Moneys,  at  that  time,  was  Hon.  Edmund  D.  Taylor,  now  resid- 
ing at  Mendota,  in  this  State,  and  for  many  years  a  resident  of 
this  City. 

Nothing  serious  happened,  however,  as  a  case  was  agreed  upon 
and  submitted,  in  1836,  to  Judge  Thomas  Ford,  of  the  Cook 
County  Circuit  Court,  at  the  October  term,  in  the  shape  of  an 
action  of  ejectment,  and  entitled  John  Jackson  ex  deni.  Murray 
McConnell  v.  De  Lafayette  Wilcox. 

The  first  time  I  ever  saw  Thos.  Ford,  who  afterward  gained  such 
a  splendid  reputation  as  our  Canal-Governor,  and  as  historian  of 
our  State,  was  when,  in  Nov.,  1836,  he  called  at  my  office  and 
left  his  written  opinion  to  be  published  in  my  Chicago  Democrat. 
His  opinion  was  very  elaborate,  and  just  as  favorable  to  the  plain- 
tiff as  it  could  possibly  be,  whilst  he  decided  against  him.  He 
thought  Gen.  Beaubien's  purchase  was  entirely  legal,  but  that  his 
title  could  not  be  enforced  until  he  had  procured  his  patent  from 
Washington;  which  one  thing  needful  he  was  never  to  procure. 
The  suit  was  appealed  to  the  State  supreme  court,  where  Justice 
Theophilus  W.  Smith,  in  behalf  of  a  majority  of  the  court,  gave 
a  long  and  exhaustive  opinion,  very  valuable  to  this  day  as  a 
historical  document,  reversing  the  decision  of  the  Court  below.* 
Justice  Smith  was  a  resident  of  this  City,  father-in-law  of  ex-Mayor 
Levi  D.  Boone.  He  was  a  warm,  personal  friend  of  Gen.  Beau- 
bien,  and  his  learned  opinion  was  the  work  of  both  heart  and 
head.  I  have  often  met  him  at  the  General's  entertainments. 
The  suit  was  then  taken  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
where  another  very  elaborate  opinion,  and  one  very  valuable  as  a 
historical  document  to  this  day,  was  given;  which  effectually  wiped 
out  every  pretence  to  a  claim  that  Gen.  Beaubien  had.  On  De- 
cember 1 8th,  1840,  he  was  glad  to  call  at  the  land -office  and 
receive  his  money  back,  without  interest  t 

Upon  April  23d,  1839,  Hon.  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of 
War,  appointed  Hon.  Matthew  Burchard,  then  Solicitor  of  the 
General  Land-Office,  the  agent  of  the  Department,  to  come  to 
Chicago  and  sell  the  reservation.  Judge  Burchard  caused  the 
land  to  be  surveyed  and  platted  as  Fort-Dearborn  Addition  to 
Chicago.  His  survey  made  the  reservation  contain  53/^  acres; 
being  3^(  acres  less  than  the  quantity  marked  upon  the  original 
official  plat,  the  quantity .  having  been  diminished,  it  was  sup- 

*  See  Scammon's  Reports,  vol.  i.    t  See  Peters'  United  States  Reports,  vol.  viii. 


4O  FORT   DEARBORN. 

posed,  by  abrasions  caused  by  the  action  of  the  water  of  the 
Lake.  All  was  sold  except  what  was  needed  for  the  occupants  of 
the  public  buildings,  and  there  was  realized  from  the  sale  what 
was  considered  at  that  time  the  great  sum  of  $106,042.* 

At  this  time,  Chicago  had  another  sensation.  Gen.  Beaubien 
had  subdivided  the  land  and  sold,  or  given  away,  his  interest  in 
a  great  many  lots.  The  owners  of  such  rights  undertook  to 
shape  a  public  sentiment  so  as  to  prevent  any  one  from  bid- 
ding against  them  at  the  time  of  the  sale.  The  very  numerous 
friends  of  Gen.  Beaubien  and  his  family,  sympathized  with  such 
a  movement.  It  would  be  difficult  to  mention  any  man  of  any 
official  prominence  or  aspirations,  from  the  Judge  of  our  Supreme 
Court  to  the  humblest  citizen,  who  did  not  favor  non-intervention. 
Politics  also  were  running  very  high.  The  next  year,  President 
Martin  VanBuren  would  seek  a  reelection,  and  many  interested 
and  sympathizing  were  his  political  supporters,  and  they  argued 
that  it  would  injure  the  party  if  the  poor  people  of  the  West 
were  to  be  outbid  by  Eastern  speculators.  Threats  of  personal 
violence  were  not  unfrequently  made.  Out  of  the  party  clamor 
grew  the  dedication  of  Dearborn  Park.  It  was  thought  a  great 
thing  to  give  so  large  a  tract  for  a  public  park.  We  had  nothing 
of  the  kind  then.  It  was  thought,  by  the  Democratic-party 
leaders,  a  measure  that  would  greatly  benefit  the  administration 
in  this  region.  Yet  Judge  Burchard  dared  not  have  an  open  sale; 
and  resolved  to  advertise  for  sealed  bids  for  a  portion  of  the  lots 
daily,  with  a  determination  to  reject  bids  which  he  thought  too 
low,  and  to  stop  the  sale  if  he  found  the  people  were  influenced 
by  intimidation.  Everything  proceeded  satisfactorily  until  the 
lots  upon  which  Gen.  Beaubien  lived  were  to  be  offered.  He  was 
expected  to  procure  his  homestead  for  a  nominal  sum  merely, 
and  violent  threats  were  made  against  any  man  who  dared  bid 
against  him.  But  there  was  one  man,  James  H.  Collins,  and  I 
think  the  only  man  in  the  City  who  dared  do  this;  who  had 
denounced  the  whole  transaction  from  the  beginning  in  every 
place  he  had  an  opportunity.  He  had  denounced  the  land- 
officers  and  the  Judges  of  the  Courts.  He  was  one  of  the 
earliest  Abolitionists  in  our  State,  and  would  shelter  fugitive 
slaves,  and  would  travel  any  distance  to  defend  one  when  cap- 
tured, or  defend  a  man  who  was  arrested  for  assisting  one  to  his 
freedom.  He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  integrity,  and  took  great 
delight  in  defying  popular  clamor.  He  took  an  average  of  the 
price  at  previous  sales  and  put  in  his  sealed  bid,  thereby  securing 

*  A  detailed  account  of  this  sale,  with  names  of  purchasers,  may  be  found 
in  No.  2  of  Fergus'  Historical  Series — Chicago  Directory  for  1839,  page  47. 


f.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.  41 

all  the  land  which  Gen.  Beaubien  desired,  being  the  land  upon 
the  east  side  of  Michigan  Avenue,  in  Block  5,  between  South- 
Water  Street  and  the  lots  reserved,  where  the  Marine  Hospital 
afterward  was,  except  the  corner  lot,  known  as  lot  n,  for  which 
Gen.  Beaubien  paid  $225.  Mr.  Collins  bid  $1049  f°r  tne 
next  five  lots,  10,  9,  8,  7,  and  6,  where  Beaubien's  house,  out- 
buildings, and  garden  were.  His  life  was  threatened.  He  was 
burnt  in  effigy.  Many  indignities  were  put  upon  him.  To  all 
this  he  bid  defiance,  asserting  that  the  friends  of  Gen.  Beaubien 
might  possibly  take  his  life,  but  they  could  never  have  his  land. 
He  was  one  of  Chicago's  ablest  lawyers,  the  candidate  of  the 
early  Abolitionists  for  Congress,  and  far  the  ablest  man  in  their 
organization.  Had  he  lived  a  few  years  longer,  he,  unquestion- 
ably, would  have  been  assigned  to  some  one  of  the  highest  posi- 
tions in  the  country.  Thus  Gen.  Beaubien  lost  his  old  home- 
stead, except  this  one  lot  which  he  soon  sold  as  insufficient  for 
him;  and  not  one  who  claimed  under  him  was  successful  in  pro- 
curing a  lot.  If  you  wish  to  find  the  traditional  residence  of  Gen. 
Jean  Baptiste  Beaubien,  after  he  moved  from  what  was  before 
known  as  the  John-Dean  house,  go  east  upon  South-Water  Street 
until  you  come  to  the  north-east  corner  of  South-Water  Street  and 
Michigan  Ave.,  and  you  will  find  it.  Gen.  Beaubien  subsequently 
moved  to  near  what  is  now  River  Park,  on  the  Desplaines  River, 
in  this  county,  near  the  reservation  of  Alex.  Robinson,  the  Indian 
chief.  The  General  died  at  Naperville,  DuPage  Co.,  Jan.  5,  1863. 

At  the  session  of  Congress,  in  1848,  I  succeeded  in  procuring 
an  amendment  to  the  Naval  Appropriation  Bill,  appropriating 
$10,000  for  the  construction  of  a  Marine  Hospital  on  such  site  as 
should  be  selected  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  the  lands 
owned  by  the  United  States.  It  was  one  of  my  best  arguments, 
for  the  appropriation,  that  the  Government  already  owned  the 
land  for  the  site.  This  took  up  another  portion  of  the  Reserva- 
tion, it  being  upon  the  northern  portion  of  block  5,  fronting 
Michigan  Avenue  and  being  upon  the  east  side  thereof,  and  ad- 
joining and  north  of  the  lots  Mr.  Collins  bought.  It  was  not  until 
September  17,  1850,  that  I  was  enabled  to  telegraph  to  you,  from 
Congress,  that  we  had  secured  the  Illinois-Central-Railroad  grant.* 
And  it  was  not  until  the  i4th  day  of  October,  1852,  that  Hon. 
Charles  M.  Conrad,  Secretary  of  War,  in  consideration  of  $45,000, 
made  the  deed  of  what  was  unoccupied  of  the  Reservation  to  that 
company,  in  which  was  the  following  preamble:  "Whereas  the 
military  site  of  Fort  Dearborn,  commonly  known  as  the  Fort- 
Dearborn  Reservation,  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  has  become  useless 

*  See  Appendix  M. 


42  FORT   DEARBORN. 

for  military  purposes,  and  the  tract  thereof  not  being  used  or 
necessary  for  the  site  of  a  fort  or  for  any  other  authorized  pur- 
poses, has  been  sold,"  etc.,  etc.  The  railroad  company,  com- 
plaining that  it  paid  this  sum  of  $45,000  from  necessity  and  under 
protest  in  order  to  expedite  their  road  into  the  City  and  insisting 
that  the  land  was  included  in  the  grant  made  by  Congress,  which 

1,  who  took  an  active  part  in  framing  and  passing  the  law,  could 
not  endorse,  brought  suit  in  the  Court  of  Claims,*  at  Washington, 
for  refunding  the  money.     The  court  decided  against  the  claim. 

I  have  thus  shown  you  how  the  entire  Reservation  was  disposed 
of,  except  what  would  make  about  eight  full  lots,  upon  which  the 
old  light-house  was  located,  or  near  it.  They  were  not  needed 
for  light-house  purposes;  and  were  lots  i  to  6  in  block  4,  frac- 
tional lots  8  and  9  in  block  2,  and  the  north  34  feet  of  lot  i  in 
block  5,  all  near  the  Rush-Street  bridge.t  James  F.  Joy  bought 
for  the  Railroad  Company  (Michigan  Central  or  Illinois  Central,, 
or  both  jointly)  the  land  occupied  by  the  Marine-Hospital  build- 
ing, being  the  south  ten  feet  of  lot  i  and  lots  2,  3,  4,  and  5  in 
block  5.  The  hospital  was  burned  in  the  great  fire  of  1871. 

The  Government  had  erected  a  new  light-house  at  the  end  of 
the  North  Pier.  I  was  in  Congress,  and  the  thought  occurred  to 
me  that  the  best  way  to  dispose  of  the  remaining  land  upon  which 
the  old  light-house  and  other  necessary  Government  buildings 
had  been  located  was  to  present  it  to  that  kind-hearted  and 
popular  old  pioneer,  Gen.  Jean  Baptiste  Beaubien.  And  it  was. 
so  done  by  an  act  approved  Aug.  i,  1854.  And  there  was  not  a 
citizen  of  Chicago  who  knew  him  who  ever  questioned  its  pro- 
priety, to  my  knowledge.  The  last  man  in  charge  of  the  old  light- 
house was  that  genial  old  settler,  his  brother  Mark,  who  passed 
away  on  the  nth  of  April,  1881,  aged  81  years.  He  came  here, 
from  Detroit,  in  1826,  where  he  resided  at  the  time  of  Gen.  Hull's 
surrender  and  he  witnessed  it.  He  brought  a  violin  with  him  and 

*  See  U.S.  Senate  Miscel.  Doc.,  No.  145,  ist  Session  of  35th  Congress. 

+  EXTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  HON.  MATHEW  BURCHARD,  AGENT 
OF  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT,  DATED  Nov.  21,  1840. — "By  the  official  plat 
herewith  enclosed,  it  will  be  seen  that  block  I,  and  lots  8,  9,  and  10  in  block 

2,  lots  i,  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  6  in  block  4,  and  lots  I,  2,  3,  4,  and  5  in  block  5 
are   colored   blue.     These   were   reserved   from  sale,  and   embrace   all   the 
grounds  occupied  by  the  light-house,  keeper's  dwelling,  and  fortress  of  Fort 
Dearborn  within  the  pickets,  including  the  officers'  quarters  and  barracks. 
This  ground  is  very  valuable.     My  object  in  reserving  so  much  property  was 
to  secure  and  protect  the  Light,  which  is  situated  on  lot  8  of  block  2,  from 
obstruction  by  private  buildings  which  otherwise  might  have  been  erected 
between  its  present  position  and  Lake  Michigan,  also  to  afford  room  and 
shops  for  the  superintendent  of  the  public  works."     [By  such  officers  it  was 
occupied  for  some  fifteen  years.] 


BY   HON.   JOHN   WENTWQRTH. 


43 


U.  S.  Marine  Hospital.  Big  Locust  Tree. 

Storehouse,  Magazine.  Block-house. 

Soldier's  Barracks.  Officer's  Quarters.  Light-house. 

Stables,  Artillery.  Commandant's  Quarters.  Light-keeper's  House. 

Ferry  Slip. 

FORT  DEARBORN  IN  1850.* 

*  The  above  is  a  very  good  representation  of  the  Fort,  in  1850,  from  a  da- 
guerrotype,  by  Polycarpus  von  Schneidau,  a  Swedish  nobleman,  taken  from 
the  south  front  of  the  Lake  House,  which  was  situated  on  the  east  side  of 
Rush  Street,  extending  from  Michigan  to  Kinzie  (now  called  North- Water) 
Streets.  The  ferry,  shown  in  the  foreground,  landed  on  the  North-Side, 
about  where  the  "Empire  Warehouse"  now  is.  The  building  faintly  shown 
between  the  block-house  and  the  light-keeper's,  is  the  residence  of  the  late 
"Judge"  Henry  Fuller,  and  was  just  outside  of  the  Fort  enclosure,  and  the 
ground  is  now  covered  by  Spaulding  &  Merrick's  tobacco  works.  There  was 
another  building  in  the  Fort  enclosure,  not  shown  in  this  view,  just  east  of 
the  block-house;  were  the  officers'  quarters  in  this  view  removed,  it  would 
appear  as  if  in  front  of  the  large  locust-tree,  and  was  the  quartermaster's  or 
sutler's  quarters.  The  parade-ground  was  between  the  commandant's, 
officers',  and  sutler's  quarters  on  the  west,  and  the  building  where  the  artillery 
was  housed,  the  soldier's  barracks,  and  the  storehouse  on  the  east;  and  was 
about  80  feet  wide,  and  extended  from  the  river  bank  south,  the  full  length 
of  the  enclosure — say  400  feet;  near  its  southern  extremity  was  a  gentle  rise 
of  ground  or  knoll,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  an  8-inch  piece  of  square 
timber,  imbedded  in  the  earth,  placed  upright,  about  2  feet  high,  upon  the 
top  of  which  was  a  brass  plate  on  which  had  been  a  sun-dial.  South  of  this 
sun-dial,  say  100  feet,  was  a  turn-style  through  which  you  entered  the  Fort 
enclosure  from  the  centre  of  Michigan  Avenue,  which  then  commenced  at  this 
point.  The  whole  Fort  enclosure  was  surrounded  by  a  rough-board  fence, 
white- washed,  about  6  feet  high;  the  pickets  having  been  removed  at  an 
earlier  date.  The  kitchen-garden  was  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  enclos- 


44  FORT   DEARBORN. 

and  with  it  made  more  hearts  merry  than  any  man  who  ever  lived 
in  Chicago.  He  requested  that  it  be  given  to  me  upon  his  death- 
bed, and  upon  the  evening  of  the  igth  of  May,  1881,  I  presented 
it  to  the  Calumet  Club,  whose  members  ever  delighted  to  enter- 
tain him.*  He  was  Mark  Beaubien,  a  brother  of  Gen.  John  B. 
Beaubien,  who  claimed  to  have  brought  the  first  piano  to  our  City, 
which  is  yet  in  good  tune  with  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Sophia 
Ogee,  daughter  of  the  late  Chas.  Beaubien,  now  living  in  Silver 
Lake,  Kansas.  When  I  came  here,  on  October  25th,  1836,  there 
was  no  other  piano  on  the  South-Side  and  none  on  the  West.  So 
much  has  been  said  and  written  of  these  two  brothers  in  connec- 
tion with  early  Chicago,  and  all  in  kindness  and  commendation, 
that  I  will  forego  the  promptings  of  my  heart  at  this  time  respect- 
ing them.  Yet  the  Beaubiens  and  that  piano  and  that  fiddle  are 
inseparably  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Fort- Dearborn 
Reservation.  For  years,  John  B.  was  the  only  resident  upon  it 
outside  the  Fort;  and,  when  the  light  which  had  so  long  illumi- 
nated our  Lake,  under  the  superintendence  of  his  brother  Mark, 
was  extinguished,  Congress  gave  to  him  what  was  left  of  its  foun- 
dation and  surroundings,  after  widening  the  river. 

A  light-houset  was  established  here,  by  an  Act  of  Congress, 
March  3,  1831.  It  fellj  soon  after  completion,  in  October  of 
y  0^  that  year;  but  it  was  soon  rebuilt.  Samuel  C.  LasW  was  the 
o^^^^y  first  keeper.  When  I  came  here,  in  1836,  William  M.  Stevens 
I  was  keeper;  then  John  C.  Gibson;  then  William  M.  Stevens 
again.  President  Harrison  appointed  Silas  Meacham;  President 
Polk,  James  Long;  President  Taylor,  Chas.  Douglass;  President 
Pierce,  Henry  Fuller;  and  President  Buchanan,  Mark  Beaubien. 
The  annual  salary  was  all  the  while  $350.  These  men  are  all 
numbered  with  the  dead.  And  so  are  nearly  all  those  who  ever 
occupied  the  Fort,  some  falling  in  the  War  of  1812,  some  in  sub- 
sequent Indian  wars,  some  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  some  in  the 
war  to  protect  and  perpetuate  a  union  in  defence  of  which  the 
others  had  fallen.  We  have  marked  the  site  and  written  the  his- 
tory of  old  Fort  Dearborn.  All  else  has  given  way  to  the  march 
of  commerce.  But  the  name  remains,  a  name  associated  with  all 
the  thrilling  scenes  of  the  American  Revolution,  from  Bunker  Hill 
to  Yorktown,  from  the  capture  of  Burgoyne  to  that  of  Cornwallis. 

ure.  The  street  or  road  shown  in  above  view  between  the  block-house  and 
the  light-keeper's  is  River  Street.  The  piles,  upon  which  the  turn-table  of 
the  present  bridge  at  Rush  Street  was  built,  were  driven  (at  about  the  spot, 
indicated  in  the  above  view,  where  the  boat  is  partly  drawn  ashore)  part  in 
the  bank  of  the  River  and  part  in  the  water;  and  the  channel  south  of  this 
turn-table  has  since  been  excavated. — F. 

*  See  Appendix  N.  t  See  Appendix  O.  J  See  Appendix  P. 


From  an   Ivory  Minature  in  the  possession  of  his  grand-nephew,  Hon.  Darius  Heald. 


APPENDIX 


A. 
THE  WELLS  FAMILY. 

The  descendants  of  Col.  Samuel  Wells  and  Capt.  William  Wells  claim 
that  their  parents  were  Virginians,  and  some  say  that  both  Samuel  and 
•William  were  born  there.  Gardner's  Army  Dictionary  states  that  both  came 
into  the  U.S.  service  from  Kentucky.  Mrs.  Capt.  Heald,  the  daughter  of 
Col.  Samuel,  was  married  at  Louisville,  Ky.  Capt.  William  was  stolen  when 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  from  the  residence  of  the  Hon.  Nathaniel  Pope,  of 
Kentucky,  by  the  Miami  Indians,  and  was  adopted  as  a  son  by  Me-che-kau- 

^^  nah-qua  or  Little  Turtle,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  warriors  and  leaders 
vi  of  his  day,  who  was  half-Mohican  and  half-Miami.  Capt.  Wells  fought  upon 
^  the  side  of  the  Indians  and  distinguished  himself  in  their  defeat  of  Gen. 
N  Josiah  Harmar,  in  1790,  and  in  their  defeat  of  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  in  1791. 
They  had  great  admiration  for  his  dash  and  courage.  About  the  time  that 
Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  was  appointed  to  take  command  of  the  Western  army, 
Capt.  Wells  began  to  realize  that  he  was  fighting  against  his  own  kindred 
\  and  might  kill  some  of  them  in  battle,  and  resolved  to  sever  his  connection 
\  with  the  Indians.  He  invited  the  chief  of  Miamis,  Little  Turtle,  to  accom- 
pany him  to  a  point  on  the  Maumee,  about  two  miles  east  of  Fort  Wayne, 
long  known  as  the  "Big  Elm,"  where  he  thus  addressed  him:  "Father,  we 
have  long  been  friends.  I  now  leave  you  to  go  to  my  own  people.  We  will 
be  friends  until  the  sun  reaches  its  mid-day  height.  From  that  time,' we  will 
be  enemies;  and,  if  you  want  to  kill  me  then,  you  may.  And,  if  I  want  to 
kill  you,  I  may."  He  set  out  immediately  for  Gen.  Wayne's  army,  was 
made  captain  of  a  company  of  spies,  and  fought  with  him  until  the  treaty  of 
peace  at  Greenville,  in  1795.  After  that,  he  was  joined  by  his  wife,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Little  Turtle,  and  his  children.  He  lived  with  Little  Turtle,  at 
Fort  Wayne;  they  were  always  fast  friends;  and  after  the  peace  of  Greenville, 
v  <3  in  1795,  was  declared  under  Wayne's  treaty,  Capt.  Wells  accompanied  Little 
A\  Turtle  to  Washington,  and  they  together  visited  nearly  all  the  Eastern  Cities. 
N  ^VLittle  Turtle  died  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  14  July,  1812.  Capt.  Wells  settled 
^  ^Vipon  a  farm  and  was  afterward  made  Indian-agent  and  Justice-of-the- Peace. 
^  ^  His  Indian  name  signified  Black-Snake.  His  correspondence  preserved  in  the 
\  A  American  State  Papers,  as  well  as  many  manuscripts  still  in  existence,  (some  of 
**  v^  which  being  now  in  my  possession),  show  that  he  was  a  good  scholar  for  his 
times.  He  had  one  other  Indian  wife,  a  Weah  woman,  and  one  American 
•  wife  who  survived  him.  His  childi  en  were  all  well  educated.  The  most  of 
them  were  by  Wa-nan-ga-peth,  the  daughter  of  Little  Turtle,  and  they  all 
were  as  follows :  /6vw-K*-  Z/  /vf}t 

Ah-pez-zah-quah — Ann  Wells  married j>Dr.  Wi 
^  A     Indiana,  died  childless,  July  26,  1834.  SkQ  £ai/f 
.    \>5          Pe-me-sah-quah — Rebekah  Wells  married  Capt 

% 


and  died  June  14,  1835,  leaving  Ann  and  John. 

Ah-mah-quau-zah-quuah — (a   sweet   breeze) — Mary 


\Y  ells,   born 

Wayne,  Indiana,  May  10,  1800,  married  Judge  James  Wolcott,  (who  was  from 
Torrington,  Connecticut,  and  is  said  to  have  been  cousin  of  our  original  Dr. 
Alexander  Wolcott),  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  March  8,  1821.  She  died  at  Maumee 
City,  (now  SoutL Toledo),  Ohio,  Febmarvyj^,  1843.  ,»He  dU 


&/&$m 


N  \ 
f* 


46  FORT   DEARBORN. 

5,  1873,  having  remarried  and  having  children  by  his  second  wife.  He  lived 
at  Fort  Wayne  (which  had  ever  been  the  home  of  the  Wells  family)  until 
1826,  when  he  removed  to  South  Toledo,  O.  Frederick  Allen  Wolcott  was 
killed  before  Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  22d,  1864. 

Wa-pe-mong-gah — William  Wayne  Wells,  graduated  at  West  Point,  in 
1821,  and  is  alluded  to  in  the  Address.  <^j-^v^l~f~' 

Jane^Vells  married  Mnriwubuu^. SMMM!  Griggs,-and  now  liv£s  a£  Peru, 
Indiana,  and  has  children/714  CQ  c<-  r^vn^~tj 

Samuel  G.  Wells  died  childless.  fc^vp 

>       Yelberton  P.  Wells  died,  leaving  one  child^at  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Juliana  Wells,  died  childless. 

All  those  having  Indian  names  claimed  that  their  names  were  given  them 
by  their  grandfather,  Little  Turtle. 

Hon.  J.  L.  Williams,  in  his  History  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Fort 
Wayne,  says:  "Of  the  first  members  of  this  church,  two  were  half-breed 
Indians,  Mrs.  Turner  and  Mrs.  Hackley,  who  had  before  (in  1820)  joined  the 
Baptist  Church,  under  the  labors  of  Rev.  Mr.  McCoy,  missionary  to  the 
Indians  at  Fort  Wayne.  They  were  educated  in  Kentucky,  and  are  yet  kindly 
remembered  as  ladies  of  refinement  and  intelligent  piety. "  Mrs.  Wolcott, 
was  a  zealous  Episcopalian,  having  united  herself  with  the  first  church  of  that 
order  upon  the  Maumee  River^ast  of  FarL^Vayne. 

The  following  children  of/ Judge* Je/ies  and  Ah-mah-quau-zah-quuah 
(Wells)  Wolcott  are  now  KvjtigV*' W/lfftm  Wells  Wolcott,  Toledo,  Ohio; 
-r^ary  Ann  Wolcott.  now  Mrs.^Gilbert,  South  Toledo,  Ohio;  Henry  Clay 
\VoIcott,  South  Toledo,  Ohio;  J^ames  Madison  Wolcott,  South  Toledo,  Ohio. 
The  latter  writes:  "We  are  proud  of  our  Indian  (Little  Turtle)  blood,  and 
of  our  Capt.  Wells  blood.  We  try  to  keep  up  the  customs  of  our  ancestors, 
and  dre^s  occasionally  in  Indian  costumes.  We  take  no  exceptions  when 
people.speak  of  our  Indian  parentage.  We  take  pleasure  in  sending  to  you 
the  tomahawk  which  Capt.  William  Wells  had  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
which  was  brought  to. his  family  by  an  Indian  who  was  in  the  battle.  We 
also  have  a  dress-sword,  which  was  presented  to  him  by  Gen.  William  H. 
Harrison,  and  a  great  many  books  which  he  had;  showing  that,  even  when 
he  lived  among  the  Indians,  he  was  trying  to  improve  himself.  He  did  all  he 
could  to  educate  his  children. "  Capt.  Wells,  in  the  year  of  his  death,  sent 
to  President  Madison,  at  Little  Turtle's  request,  the  interpretation  of  the 
speech  that  that  chief  made  to  Gen.  W.  H.  Harrison,  January  25,  1812. 


B. 

STATEMENT  COMPILED  FROM  THE  RECORDS  OF  THE  ADJUTANT-GEN- 
ERAL'S OFFICE,  IN  THE  CASE  OF  FORT  DEARBORN,  WITH  COPIES 
OF  ORDERS: 

STATEMENT: 

Fort  Dearborn,  situated  at  Chicago,  111.,  within  a  few  yards  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan; Latitude  41°  51'  North;  Longitude  87°  15'  West.  Post  established  by 
the  United  States  forces  in  1804.  [From  1804-12,  no  records  are  on  file.] 

August  I5th,  1812,  the  garrison  having  evacuated  the  post  and  were^»  route 
for  Ft.  Wayne,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Nathan  Heald,  ist  U.  S.  Infan- 
try, composed  of  54  Regular  Infantry,  12  Militia-men,  and  I  Interpreter,  was 
attacked  by  Indians,  to  the  number  of  between  400  and  500,  of  whom  15  were 
reported  killed.  Those  of  the  garrison  killed  were  Ensign  George  Ronan,  ist 
Infantry,  Dr.  Isaac  V.  VanVoorhis,  Capt.  Wells,  Interpreter,  24  enlisted  men 
U.  S.  Infantry,  and  12  militia-men;  2  wome^nd  12  children  were  also  kille)^_ 

J,*J, 

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*  '       4 


APPENDIX — OFFICIAL   RECORDS.  47 

The  wounded  were  Capt.  Nathan  Heald  and  Mrs.  Heald.  None  others 
reported.  The  next  day,  August  16,  1812,  the  post  was  destroyed  by  the 
Indians,  Re-occupied  about  June,  1816,  Capt.  Hezekiah  Bradley,  3d  Infan- 
try, commanding;  the  troops  continued  in  occupation  until  October,  1823, 
when  the  post  was  evacuated  and  left  in  charge  of  the  Indian  agent;  it  was 
re-occupied  October  3,  1828. 

Capt.  Hezekiah  Bradley,  3d  Infantry,  commanded  the  post  from  June, 
1816,  to  May,  1817;  Brevet-Major  D.  Baker,  3d  Infantry,  to  June,  1820; 
Capt.  Hezekiah  Bradley,  3d  Infantry,  to  January,  1821;  Major  Alex. 
Cummings,  3d  Infantry,  to  October,  1821;  Lieut. -Col.  J.  McNeal,  3d  In- 
fantry, to  July,  1823;  Capt.  John  Greene,  3d  Infantry;  to  October,  1823; 
post  not  garrisoned  from  October,  1823,  to  October,  1828.  No  returns  of 
post  on  file  prior  to  1828. 

COPIES  OF  ORDERS: 

Order  No.  35.  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Washington,  27  May,  1823. 

The  Major-General,  commanding  the  army,  directs  that  Fort  Dearborn, 
Chicago,  be  evacuated,  and  that  the  garrison  thereof  be  withdrawn  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  3d  Regiment  of  Infantry. 

One  company  of  the  3d  Regiment  of  Infantry  will  proceed  to  Mackinac  and 
relieve  the  company  of  Artillery  now  stationed  there,  which,  with  the  company 
of  Artillery  at  Fort  Shelby,  Detroit,  will  be  withdrawn  and  ordered  to  the 
Harbor  of  New  York. 

The  Commanding-General  of  the  Eastern  Department  will  give  the  neces- 
sary orders  for  carrying  these  movements  into  effect  as  well  as  for  the  security 
of  the  public  property  at  Forts  Dearborn  and  Shelby.  "•* 

By  order  of  MAJOR -GENERAL  BROWN, 
(Signed)     CHAS.  J.  NOURSE,  Acfg  Adjutant- General. 

Order  No.  44.  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Washington,  19  Aug.,  1828. 

[EXTRACT.]  In  conformity  with  the  directions  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
the  following  movements  of  the  troops  will  be  made  without  delay: 

I.  Two  companies  of  the  5th  Regiment  of  Infantry  to  re-occupy  Fort 
Dearborn,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan;  the  remaining  eight  companies  to 
proceed,  by  the  way  of  the  Ouisconsin  and  Fox  Rivers,  to  Fort  Howard, 
Green  Bay,  where  the  headquarters  of  the  Regiment  will  be  established. 

Four  Go's  of  this  Reg't  to  constitute  the  garrison  of  Ft.  Howard;  two  Go's, 
the  garrison  for  Michilimackinac,  and  two  for  that  of  Ft.  Brady.  *  * 

4.  The  Quartermaster-General's  Department  to  furnish  the  necessary  trans- 
portation and  supplies  for  the  movement  and  accommodation  of  the  troops. 

The  Subsistence  department  to  furnish  the  necessary  surplus  of  provisions. 
The  Surgeon-General  to  provide  Medical  Officers  and  suitable  Hospital 
supplies  for  the  posts  to  be  established  and  re-occupied. 

5.  The  Commanding-Generals  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Departments 
are  respectively  charged  with  the  execution  of  this  Order,  as  far  as  relates  to 
their  respective  commands. 

By  order  of  MAJOR-GENERAL  MACOMB, 

(Signed)     R.  JONES,  Adjutant-General. 

Order  No.  5.  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Washington,  31  March,  1831. 

[EXTRACT.]  I.  The  Post  of  Chicago  will  be  evacuated  as  early  as  prac- 
ticable, and  the  garrison,  consisting  of  two  companies  of  the  5th  Regiment  of 
Infantry,  will  proceed  to  Green  Bay,  and  occupy  Fort  Howard.  *  * 

By  order  of  ALEXANDER  MACOMB, 

,1  I    *T7  /?  Major-General,  Commanding  the  Army, 

'    <f»--Z,   ft   7 t *^&/^#L.          (Signed)     R.  JONES,  Adjutant-general. t 


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APPENDIX — CONTEMPORANEOUS.  49 

Order  No.  17.  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Washington,  23  Feb.,  1832. 

(COPY.)  The  head-quarters  of  the  2d  Regiment  of  Infantry  are  transferred 
to  Fort  Niagara.  Lieut. -Col.  Cummings,  with  all  the  officers  and  men  com- 
posing the  garrison  of  Madison  Barracks,  Sacketts'  Harbor,  will  accordingly 
relieve  the  garrison  of  Fort  Niagara;  and  Major  Whistler,  of  the  2d  Infantry, 
on  being  relieved  by  Lieut. -Col.  Cummings,  with  all  the  troops  under  his 
command,  will  repair  to  Fort  Dearborn  (Chicago,  Illinois)  and  garrison  that 
post. 

Assistant- Surgeon  DeCamp,  now  on  duty  at  Madison  Barracks,  is  assigned 
to  duty  at  Fort  Dearborn,  and  will  accompany  the  troops  ordered  to  that  post. 

These  movements  will  take  place  as  soon  as  the  navigation  will  permit. 
By  order  of  MAJOR-GENERAL  MACOMB, . 

(Signed)     R.  JONES,  Adjutant-General. 

General  Order,  Head-quarters  of  the  Army, 

No.  80.  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Washington,  Nov.  30,  1836. 

[EXTRACT.]  I.  The  troops  stationed  at  Fort  Dearborn,  Chicago,  will 
immediately  proceed  to  Fort  Howard  and  join  the  garrison  at  that  post.  Such 
public  property  as  may  be  left  at  Fort  Dearborn  will  remain  in  charge  of 
Brevet-Major  Plympton,  of  the  5th  Infantry,  who  will  continue  in  command 
of  the  post  until  otherwise  instructed. 

By  order  of  ALEXANDER  MACOMB,  Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g-in-Chief, 

(Signed)     R.  JONES,  Adjutant-General. 
Adjutant's -General's  Office, 

Washington,  April  2,  1881. 

OFFICIAL,  (Signed)    C.  McKEEVER, 

Assistant-Adjutant  General  in  charge. 


C. 

CONTEMPORANEOUS   ACCOUNTS. 

Mathew  Irwin,  [or  Irvine],  Indian  agent,  writes  from  Chicago,  May  131)1, 
1811,  to  the  Secretary  of  War: 

"An  assemblage  of  the  Indians  is  to  take  place  on  a  branch  of  the  Illinois, 
by  the  influence  of  the  Prophet.,  //The,  result  will  beJjostile  i»Ahe  e^nt  of 
war  with  Great^^in^/ ^  &LCC.  (j^'lvtJL  cfP^'ZZ-  <*<&  ^  °) 
(Saliennjg/" Indian  interpreter  at  Chicago,  writes  under  date  of  June  2,  1811 : 

"  Several  horses  have  been  stolen.  The  Indians  in  this  quarter  are  inclined 
to  hostility. " 

John  Johnston,  [who  was  U.S.  factor  at  Fort  Wayne],  writes  from  Piqua- 
Town,  Ohio,  under  date  of  May  I,  1812: 

"  The  Indians  have  recently  murdered  two  men  at  Fort  Dearborn. " 

Mathew  Irwin  [or  Irvine]  writes,  Chicago,  loth  March,  1812: 

"The  Chippewa  and  Ottawa  nations,  hearing  that  the  Winnebagoes  and 
Pottawatomies  are  hostilely  inclined  toward  the  whites,  sent  speeches  among 
them,  desiring  them  to  change  their  sentiments,  and  live  in  peace  with  the 
whites."  April  16,  1812 :  "On  the  6th,  a  party  of  ten  or  eleven  Indians 
surrounded  a  small  farm-house,  on  Chicago  River,  and  killed  two  men.  The 
Indians  are  of  the  Winnebago  tribe." 

EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS  FROM  CAPTAIN  HEALD: 

CHICAGO,  yth  February,  1812. 

An  express  arrived  at  the  post  on  the  1st  instant,  from  Gen.  [William, 
afterward  Governor  of  Missouri.]  Clark.  He  was  sent  for  the  purpose  of 


5<D  FORT   DEARBORN. 

finding  out  the  disposition  of  the  Indians;  he  was  a  Frenchman,  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  Indians.  He  told  me,  that  the  Indians  on  the  Illinois 
were  hostile  disposed  towards  the  United  States,  and  that  the  war  between 
the  Indians  and  the  white  people  had  just  commenced,  alluding  to  the  late 
battle  on  the  Wabash,  [Tippecanoe.  ] 

An  express  arrived  here  on  the  first  of  the  month  from  St.  Louis,  sent  by 
Gen.  Clark,  Indian-agent  of  that  place,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  the  dis- 
position of  the  Indians,  between  here  and  there.  This  express  is  a  French- 
man, who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  Indians,  and  he  is  of  opinion  that  there 
are  many  of  them  determined  to  continue  the  war  against  the  whites. 

CHICAGO,  March  n,  1812. 

I  have  been  informed,  and  believe  it  to  be  true,  that  the  Winnebagoes 
have  lately  attacked  some  traders  on  the  Mississippi,  near  the  lead  mines;  it 
is  said  they  killed  two  Americans  and  eat  them  up,  and  took  all  their  goods; 
there  are  two  French  traders  whom  they  robbed  of  all  their  goods  and 
suffered  them  to  go  off  alive.  This  news  came  to  me  from  a  Frenchman,  at 
Millwaike,  who  has  been  to  the  Winnebago  nation.  The  Winnebagoes  who 
escaped  from  the  Prophet's  town,  are  still  in  the  neighborhood. 

CHICAGO,  April  i5th,  1812. 

The  Indians  have  commenced  hostilities  in  this  quarter.  On  the  6th  inst, 
a  little  before  sunset,  a  party  of  eleven  Indians,  supposed  to  be  Winnebagoes, 
came  to  Messrs.  Russel  and  See's  cabin,  in  a  field  on  the  Portage  branch  of 
the  Chicago  River,  about  three  miles  from  the  garrison,  where  they  murdered 
two  men,  one  by  the  name  of  Liberty  White,  an  American,  and  the  other  a 
Canadian  Frenchman,  whose  name  I  do  not  know.  White  received  two  balls 
through  his  body;  nine  stabs  with  a  knife  in  his  breast,  and  one  in  his  hip,  his 
throat  was  cut  from  ear  to  ear,  his  nose  and  lips  were  taken  off  in  one  piece, 
and  his  head  skinned  almost  as  far  round  as  they  could  find  any  hair.  -The 
Frenchman  was  only  shot  through  the  neck  and  scalped.  Since  the  murder 
of  these  two  men,  one  or  two  other  parties  of  Indians  have  been  lurking 
about  us,  but  we  have  been  so  much  on  our  guard  that  they  have  not  been 
able  to  get  any  scalps. 

[See  Mrs.  Kinzie's  Wau-bun,  pp.  203-47,  for  a  fuller  account  of  this  affair.  ] 

From  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  79,  October  3d,  1812. 
FALL  OF  FORT  DEARBORN  AT  CHICAWGO. — Yesterday  afternoon  the 
Queen  Charlotte  arrived  at  Fort  Erie,  seven  days  from  Detroit.  A  flag 
of  truce  soon  landed  at  Buffalo  Creek,  Major  Atwater  and  Lieut.  J.  L. 
Eastman,  who  gave  the  following  account  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Dearborn. 
On  the  1st  of  September,  a  Pottawatomie  chief  arrived  at  Detroit,  and  stated, 
that  about  the  middle  of  August,  Capt.  Wells,  from  Fort  Wayne,  (an  inter- 
preter) arrived  at  Fort  Dearborn  to  advise  the  commandant  of  that  Fort  to 
evacuate  it  and  retreat.  In  the  meantime  a  large  body  of  Indians  of  different 
nations  had  collected  and  menaced  the  garrison.  A  council  was  held  with 
the  Indians,  in  which  it  was  agreed  that  the  party  in  the  garrison  should  be 
spared  on  condition  that  all  property  in  the  Fort  should  be  given  up.  The 
Americans  marched  out  but  were  fired  upon  and  nearly  all  killed.  There 
were  about  fifty  men  in  the  Fort  besides  women  and  children,  and  probably 
not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  taken  prisoners.  Capt.  Wells  and  Heald  (the 
commandant)  were  killed. — Buffalo  Gazette,  [date  not  given]. 

From  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  May  8th,  1813,  Vol.  iv.,  p.  160. 
EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER  FROM  WALTER  JORDAN,  A  NON-COMMISSIONED 
OFFICER  OF  THE  REGULARS  AT  FORT  WAYNE,  TO  HIS  WIFE  IN  ALLE- 
GHENY COUNTY,  DATED  FORT  WAYNE,  OCTOBER  19,   1812 : — I  take  my 


APPENDIX — CONTEMPORANEOUS.  5  I 

pen  to  inform  you  that  I  am  well,  after  a  long  a  perilous  journey  through 
the  Indian  country.  Capt.  Wells,  myself,  and  an  hundred  friendly  Indians, 
left  Fort  Wayne  on  the  1st  of  August,  to  escort  Captain  Heald  from 
Fort  Chicauga  as  he  was  in  danger  of  being  captured  by  the  British.  Orders 
had  been  given  to  abandon  that  Fort  and  retreat  to  Fort  Wayne,  a  distance 
of  150  miles.  We  reached  Chicauga  on  the  loth  of  August,  and  on  the  I5th 
-we  prepared  for  an  .immediate  march,  burning  all  that  we  could  not  fetch 
with  us.  On  the  I5th,  at  8  o'clock,  we  commenced  our  march  with  our  small 
force,  which  consisted  of  Capt.  Wells,  myself,  and  100  Confute  Indians,  Capt. 
Heald's  100  men,  10  women,  and  20  children — in  all  232.  We  had  marched 
half  a  mile  when  we  were  attacked  by  600  Kickapoo  and  Wynbago 
Indians.  In  the  moment  of  trial  our  Confute  savages  joined  the  savage 
•enemy.  Our  contest  lasted  ten  minutes,  when  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
was  killed  except  fifteen.  Thanks  be  to  God  I  was  one  of  those  who  escaped. 
First  they  shot  the  feather  off  my  cap,  next  the  epaulet  from  my  shoulder, 
and  then  the  handle  from  my  sword.  I  then  surrendered  to  four  savage 
rascals.  The  Confute  chief,  taking  me  by  the  hand  and  speaking  English 
said,  "Jordan,  I  know  you ;  you  gave  me  tobacco  at  Fort  Wayne.  We 
•won't  kill  you,  but  come  and  see  what  we  will  do  with  your  captain. "  So 
leading  me  to  where  Wells  lay,  they  cut  off  his  head  and  put  it  on  a  long 
pole,  while  another  took  out  his  heart  and  divided  it  among  the  chiefs  and 
ate  it  up  raw.  Then  they  scalped  the  slain  and  stripped  the  prisoners,  and 
gathered  in  a  ring  with  us  fifteen  poor  wretches  in  the  middle.  They  had 
nearly  all  fallen  out  about  the  divide,  but  my  old  chief,  the  White  Raccoon, 
holding  me  fast,  they  made  the  divide  and  departed  to  their  towns.  They  tied 

me  hard  and  fast  that  night,  and  placed  a  guard  over  me. 1  lay  down 

and  slept  soundly  until  morning,  for  I  was  tired.  In  the  morning  they  untied 
me  and  set  me  parching  corn,  at  which  I  worked  attentively  until  night. 
They  said  that  if  I  would  stay  and  not  run  away,  that  they  would  make  a 
chief  of  me;  but  if  I  would  attempt  to  run  away  they  would  catch  me  and 
burn  me  alive.  I  amused  them  with  a  fine  story  in  order  to  gain  their  confi- 
dence, and,  fortunately,  made  my  escape  from  them  on  the  igth  of  August, 
and  took  one  of  their  best  horses  to  carry  me,  being  seven  days  in  the  wilder- 
ness. I  was  joyfully  received  at  Wayne  on  the  26th.  On  the  28th  they 
attacked  the  Fort  and  blockaded  us  until  the  i6th  of  September,  when  we 
were  relieved  by  Gen.  Harrison. 

From  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  3,  p.  155,  Nov.  yth,  1812-13. 
EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER  FROM  CAPT.  HEALD,  LATE  COMMANDANT  AT 
FORT  CHICAGO,  DATED  AT  PITTSBURGH,  OCTOBER  23,  1812: — On  the 
9th  of  August,  I  received  orders  from  Gen.  Hull,  to  evacuate  the  post,  and 
proceed,  with  my  command,  to  Detroit  by  land,  leaving  it  at  my  discretion  to 
dispose  of  the  public  property  as  I  thought  proper.  The  neighboring  Indians 
got  the  information  as  early  as  I  did,  and  came  in  from  all  quarters  in  order 
to  receive  the  goods  in  the  factory-store,  which  they  understood  were  to  be 
given  them.  On  the  I3th,  Capt.  Wells,  of  Fort  Wayne,  arrived  with  about 
thirty  Miamies,  for  the  purpose  of  escorting  us  in  by  request  of  Gen.  Hull. 
On  the  I4th,  I  delivered  the  Indians  all  the  goods  in  the  factory-store,  and  a 
considerable  quantity  of  provisions,  which  we  could  not  take  with  us.  The 
surplus  arms  and  ammunition,  I  thought  proper  to  destroy,  fearing  they  would 
make  bad  use  of  it,  if  put  in  their  possession.  I  also  destroyed  all  liquor  on 
hand,  soon  after  they  began  to  collect.  The  collection  was  usually  large  for 
that  place,  but  they  conducted  with  the  strictest  propriety  until  after  I  left  the 
Fort.  On  the  I5th,  at  9  a.m.,  we  commenced  our  march,  a  part  of  the 
Miamies  were  detached  in  front,  the  remainder  in  our  rear,  as  guards, 

4 


52  FORT   DEARBORN. 

under  the  direction  of  Capt.  Wells.  The  situation  of  the  country  rendered 
it  necessary  for  us  to  take  the  beach,  with  the  lake  on  our  left,  and 
a  high  sand-bank  on  our  right,  at  about  one  hundred  yards  distance.  We 
had  proceeded  about  a  mile  and  a-half,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the 
Indians  were  prepared  to  attack  us  from  behind  the  bank.  I  immediately 
marched  up,  with  the  company,  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  when  the  action 
commenced;  after  firing  one  round,  we  charged,  and  the  Indians  gave  way 
in  front  and  joined  those  on  our  flanks.  In  about  fifteen  minutes,  they  got 
possession  of  all  our  horses,  provisions,  and  baggage  of  every  description,  and 
finding  the  Miamies  did  not  assist  us,  I  drew  off  the  few  men  I  had  left,  and 
took  possession  of  a  small  elevation  in  the  open  prairie,  out  of  shot  of  the  bank 
or  any  other  cover.  The  Indians  did  not  follow  me,  but  assembled  in  a  body 
on  the  top  of  the  bank,  and,  after  some  consultation  among  themselves,  made 
signs  for  me  to  approach  them.  I  advanced  toward  them  alone,  and  was 
met  by  one  of  the  Pottawatomie  chiefs,  called  Black-Bird,  with  an  interpreter. 
After  shaking  hands,  he  requested  me  to  surrender,  promising  to  spare  the 
lives  of  all  the  prisoners.  On  a  few  moments  consideration,  I  con  luded  it 
would  be  most  prudent  to  comply  with  his  request,  although  I  did  not  put 
entire  confidence  in  his  promise. 

After  delivering  up  our  arms,  we  were  taken  back  to  their  encampment 
near  the  Fort,  and  distributed  among  the  different  tribes.  The  next  morning 
they  set  fire  to  the  Fort,  and  left  the  place,  taking  the  prisoners  with  them. 
Their  number  of  warriors  was  between  400  and  500,  mostly  of  the  Potta- 
watomie nation,  and  their  loss,  from  the  best  information  I  could  get,  was 
about  fifteen.  Our  strength  was  about  fifty-four  regulars  and  twelve  militia, 
out  of  which,  twenty-six  regulars  and  all  the  militia  were  killed  in  the  action, 
with  two  women  and  twelve  children.  Ensign  George  Ronan  and  Dr.  Isaac 
V.  VanVoorhis,  of  my  company,  with  Capt.  Wells,  of  Fort  Wayne,  to  my 
great  sorrow,  are  numbered  among  the  dead.  Lieut.  Linai  T.  Helm,  with 
twenty-five  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  and  eleven  women  and 
children,  were  prisoners  when  we  separated.  Mrs.  Heald  and  myself  were 
taken  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Joseph,  and,  being  both  badly  wounded, 
were  permitted  to  reside  with  Mr.  Burnett,  an  Indian  trader.  In  a  few  days 
after  our  arrival  there,  the  Indians  went  off  to  take  Fort  Wayne,  and  in  their 
absence,  I  engaged  a  Frenchman  to  take  us  to  Michilimackinac,  by  .water, 
where  I  gave  myself  up  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  with  one  of  my  serjeantlE'  The 
commanding  officer,  Capt.  Roberts,  offered  me  every  assistance  in  his  power 
to  render  our  situation  comfortable  while  we  remained  there,  and  to  enable  us 
to  proceed  on  our  journey.  To  him  I  gave  my  parole  of  honor,  and  came  on 
to  Detroit,  and  reported  myself  to  Col.  Proctor,  who  gave  us  a  passage  to 
Buffaloe;  from  that  place,  I  came  by  the  way  of  Presque-Isle,  and  arrived 
here  yesterday.  /f  , 

~ 


From  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Saturday,  April  3,  1813.  Vol.  iv.,  p.  83. 
SAVAGE  BARBARITY.  —  Mrs.  Helm,  the  wife  Lieut.  Helm,  who  escaped 
from  the  butchery  of  the  garrison  of  Chicauga,  by  the  assistance  of  a  humane 
Indian,  has  arrived  at  this  place  [Buffaloe]  ;  the  account  of  her  sufferings  during 
three  months'  slavery  among  the  Indians,  and  three  months'  imprisonment 
amongst  their  allies,  would  make  a  most  interesting  volume;  one  circumstance 
alone  I  will  mention.  During  five  days  after  she  was  taken  prisoner,  she  had 
not  the  least  sustenance,  and  was  compelled  to  drag  a  canoe,  (barefooted  and 
wading  along  the/tream),  in  which  there  were  soma  squaws,  and  when  she 


APPENDIX — CONTEMPORANEOUS.  53 

demanded  food,  some  flesh  of  her  murdered  countrymen  and  a  piece  of  Col. 
Wells'  heart  was  offered  her.  She  knows  the  fact,  that  Col.  Proctor,  the 
British  commander  at  Maiden,  bought  the  scalps  of  our  murdered  garrison  of 
Chicauga,  and  thanks  to  her  noble  spirit,  she  boldly  charged  him  with  his 
infamy  in  his  own  house.  She  knows  further,  from  the  tribe  with  whom  she 
was  a  prisoner,  and  who  were  perpetrators  of  those  murders,  that  they 
intended  to  remain  true,  but  that  they  received  orders,  from  the  British,  to 
cut  off  our  garrison  whom  they  were  to  escort. 

Oh!  spirits  of  the  murdered  Americans,  can  ye  not  rouse  your  countrymen, 
your  friends,  your  relations,  to  take  ample  vengeance  on  those  worse  than 
savage  blood-hounds?  "  March  8,  1813.  AN  OFFICER. 

From  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  4th  June,  1814,  Vol.  vi.,  p.  221. 

CHICAGO. — Among  the  persons  who  have  recently  arrived  at  this  place 
(says  the  Plattsburg  [N.Y.]  paper  of  the  2ist  ultimo)  from  Quebec  are — 

James  Van  Horn,  Elias  Mills,  Dyson  Dyer, 

Joseph  Knowles,  Joseph  Bowen,  James  Corbin,  and 

Paul  Grummow,  Nathan  Edson,  Phelim  Corbin, 

of  the  ist  Regment  of  U.S.  Infantry,  who  survived  the  massacre  at  Fort  Dear- 
born or  Chicago,  on  the  I5th  of  Aug.,  1812.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the 
commandant  at  Fort  Chicago,  Capt.  Heald,  was  ordered,  by  Gen.  Hull, 
to  evacuate  the  Fort,  and  proceed  with  his  command  to  Detroit;  that  having 
proceeded  about  a  mile  and  a-half  the  troops  were  attacked  by  a  body  of 
Indians,  to  whom  they  were  compelled  to  capitulate.  Capt.  Heald,  in  his 
report  of  this  affair,  dated  October  23rd.,  1812,  says:  "Our  strength  was 
fifty-four  regulars  and  twelve  militia,  out  of  which  twenty-six  regulars  and  all 
the  militia  were  killed  in  the  action,  with  two  women  and  twelve  children. 
Lieut.  Linai  T.  Helm,  with  twenty-five  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates, 
and  eleven  women  and  children,  were  prisoners  when  we  separated. "  Lieut. 
Helm  was  ransomed.  Of  the  twenty- five  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates,  and  the  eleven  women  and  children,  the  nine  persons  above  men- 
tioned, are  believed  to  be  the  only  survivors.  They  state  that  the  prisoners 
who  were  not  put  to  death  on  the  march,  were  taken  to  the  Fox  River,  in  the 
Illinois  Territory,  where  they  were  distributed  among  the  Indians  as  servants. 
Those  who  survived  remained  in  this  situation  about  nine  months,  during  which 
time  they  were  allowed  scarcely  a  sufficiency  of  sustenance  to  support  nature, 
and  were  then  brought  to  Fort  Chicago,  where  they  were  purchased  by  a 
French  trader,  agreeable  to  the  directions  of  Gen.  Proctor,  and  sent  to  Am- 
herstburg,  and  from  thence  to  Quebec,  where  they  arrived  Nov.  8th,  1813. 

John  Neads,  who  was  one  of  the  prisoners,  formerly  of  Virginia,  died 
among  the  Indians  between  the  I5th  and  2oth  of  January,  1813. 

Hugh  Logan,  an  Irishman,  was  tomahawked  and  put  to  death,  he  not  being 
able  to  walk,  from  excessive  fatigue. 

August  Mott,  a  German,  was  killed  in  the  same  mannet  for  the  like  reason. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Nelson  was  frozen  to  death  while  a  captive  with  the 
Indians.  He  was  formerly  from  Maryland. 

A  child  of  Mrs.  Neads,  the  wife  of  John  Neads,  was  tied  to  a  tree  to  pre- 
vent its  following  and  crying  after  its  mother  for  victuals.  Mrs.  Neads  after- 
wards perished  with  hunger  and  cold. 

The  officers  who  were  killed  on  the  I5th  of  August  had  their  heads  cut  off 
and  their  hearts  taken  out  and  broiled  in  the  presence  of  the  prisoners. 

Eleven  children  were  massacred  and  scalped  in  one  wagon. 

Mrs.  Corbin,  wife  of  Phelim  Corbin,  in  an  advanted  stage  of  pregnancy, 
was  tomahawked,  scalped,  cut  open,  and  had  the  child  taken  out  and  its  head 
cut  off. 


54  FORT   DEARBORN. 

[From  American  State  Papers,  Indian  affairs,  Vol.  II.,  p.  59.] 
ESTIMATE  OF  LOSSES  SUSTAINED  BY  THE  INDIAN-FACTORY  DEPARTMENT  DURING  THE 

LATE  WAR  BY  DESTRUCTION  OF  BUILDINGS,  ETC.,  BV  THE  ENEMY,  viz.: 
1812.  LATE  FACTORY  AT  CHICAGO: 

Amount  Merchandise  on  hand  at  this  Factory  on  its  evacuation, 

which  was  delivered  to  the  Indians  by  the  commanding 

officer,  Captain  Heald,  -  -    $6,120.03% 

Amount  Furs  and  Peltries  shipped  to  Mackinac,  and  there  taken 

by  the  British,       -  5,781.91 

Amount  Soldier's  due-bills  on  hand,  most  of  whom,  it  is  believed 

were  murdered  by  the  Indians,        -  -  33-°i 

Amount  debts  due  from  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Fort,        -  385. 27 

Amount  debts  due  from  Indians,       -  -          134-31 

Amount  household  furniture  left  in  the  Factory,  -  119.9+ 

Amount  F&ctory  buildings,  estimated,  -  •      ,.      -          500.00      $13,074.47% 


D. 

IMPORTANT  REMINISCENSES  OF  AN  OLD  SETTLER. 

SHEBOYGAN,  Wis.,  May  24th,  1881. 
HON.  JOHN  WENTWORTH, 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  your  account,  and  also 
the  remarks  of  others  in  regard  to  Chicago  and  Illinois  history.  I  am 
acquainted  with  some  facts,  derived  from  conversations  with  one  who  was 
there  and  witnessed  the  fight  and  killing  of  many  of  those  who  lost  their 
lives,  on  that  memorable  day.  She  was  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  soldiers, 
and  was  one  of  the  children  who,  with  her  mother  and  sister,  occupied  one 
of  the  wagons  or  conveyances  that  was  to  convey  them  from  the  Fort.  She 
told  me  she  saw  her  father  when  he  fell,  and  also  saw  many  others;  she  with 
her  mother  and  sister  were  prisoners  among  the  Indians  for  nearly  two  years, 
and  were  finally  taken  to  Mackinac  and  sold  to  the  traders  and  sent  to 
Detroit.  On  our  arrival  in  Detroit,  in  1816,  after  the  war,  this  girl  was 
taken  into  our  family,  and  was  then  about  thirteen  years  old  and  had  been 
scalped.  She  said  a  young  Indian  came  to  the  wagon  where  she  was,  and 
grabbed  her  by  the  hair  and  pulled  her  out  of  the  wagon,  and  she  fought  him 
the  best  she  knew  how,  scratching  and  biting,  until  finally  he  threw  her 
down  and  scalped  her.  She  was  so  frightened  she  was  not  aware  of  it  until 
the  blood  ran  down  her  face.  An  old  squaw  interfered  and  prevented  her 
from  being  tomahawked  by  the  Indian,  she  going  with  the  squaw  to  her  wig- 
wam and  was  taken  care  of  and  her  heard  cured, — this  squaw  was  the  one 
that  often  came  to  their  house — the  bare  spot  on  top  of  her  head  was  about 
the  size  of  a  silver  dollar.  She  saw  Capt.  Wells  killed,  and  told  the  same 
story  as  related  in  your  pamphlet. 

My  father  was  well  acquainted  with  Capt.  Wells;  was  stationed  with  him 
at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  where  I  was  born,  in  1807;  and  he  was  surgeon  of 
the  post.  My  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Hunt,  of  the  5th  Infy. 

I  think  there  must  be  a  mistake  as  to  the  year  the  Kinzies  returned  to 
Chicago.  My  father  and  family  arrived  in  Detroit,  in  June,  1816;  the 
Kinzies  were  there  then,  and  I  was  a  schoolmate  of  John,  Robert,  Ellen,  and 
Maria  during  that  year,  and  I  think  they  returned  to  Chicago  in  1817. 
Old  Mr.  Kinzie  went  in  fall  of  1816,  and  family  in  spring  of  1817. 

Capt.  Wells  after  being  captured  by  the  Indians,  when  a  boy,  remained 
with  them  until  the  treaty  with  the  Miamis.  Somewhere  about  the  year 
X795»  he  was  a  chief  and  an  adopted  brother  of  the  celebrated  chief  Little 
Turtle.  Capt.  Wells  signed  the  marriage  certificate,  as  officiating  magistrate, 


APPENDIX — LETTER   FROM   A.    H.   EDWARDS  55 

of  my  father  and  mother  at  Fort  Wayne,  June,  1805.  The  certificate  is 
now  in  my  possession.*  I  was  in  Chicago  in  1832,  in  the  Black-Hawk-\var 
time,  as  ist  lieutenant  of  a  company  of  cavalry  from  Michigan.  The  regi- 
ment was  commanded  by  Gen.  Hart  L.  Stewart,  now  living  in  Chicago. 

During  the  Black-Hawk  war,  and  when  in  Chicago,  we  heard  of  the  killing 
of  the  Hall  family  and  the  carrying  off  of  the  two  girls.  Our  company 
camped  that  night  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Calumet,  and  next  morning 
went  into  Chicago  and  the  Fort,  was  occupied  by  women  and  children  from 
the  surrounding  country.  Then  I  saw  for  the  last  time  my  schoolmate,  R. 
A.  Kinzie.  My  brother,  Col.  T.  A.  H.  Edwards,  was  in  command  of  the 
Fort  after  we  left,  and  had  a  Cass-County  regiment  of  militia  from  Michigan. 
We  met  him  on  our  return  at  Door  Prairie.  He  remained  there  until  the 
arrival  of  Maj.  Whistler,  in  June,  1832;  he  retired  from  the  Fort  before  the 
landing  of  any  of  the  U.  S.  troops  on  account  of  the  cholera  being  among  them, 
and  he  wished  to  avoid  any  contact  with  them  on  that  account.  His  command 
camped  on  the  prairie,  about  a  mile  from  the  Fort,  and  remained  only  a  day 
or  two.  Fearing  that  the  cholera  might  get  among  his  men,  he  left  for  home, 
as  he  saw  they  were  not  needed  any  longer,  and  was  so  informed  by  Major 
Whistler. 

Capt.  Anderson,  Ensign  Wallace,  and  myself  camped  under  the  hospitable 
roof  of  Gen.  Beaubien,  on  the  bank  of  the  Lake  not  vary  far  from  the  Fort, 
who  had  kept  the  only  house  there.  Mark  Beaubien,  Jr.,  went  into  Chicago 
with  us,  he  having  joined  us  at  Niles,  on  his  way  home  from  school.  He 
was  the  son  of  the  one  called  the  fiddler. 

Our  family  lived  in  Detroit,  and  were  well  acquainted  with  the  Whistlers. 
My  father,  Major  Edwards,  was  in  Detroit  at  the  surrender  of  Hull,  as 
Surgeon-General  of  the  Northwestern  Army;  he  went  from  Ohio  and  arriv- 
ing in  Detroit  received  his  appointment;  our  family  thfen  living  at  Dayton, 
Ohio;  at  the  close  of  the  war  resigned,  and  in  1816  removed  to  Detroit,  and 
was  appointed  sutler  to  all  the  northwestern  posts: — Fort  Gratiot,  Mackinac, 
Green  Bay,  [Fort  Howard],  and  Chicago,  [Fort  Dearborn];  his  books,  now 
in  my  possession,  showing  his  dealings  with  each  of  these  stores,  and  all  the 
officers  mentioned  in  your  paper. 

Capt.  Wells  urged  Major  Heald  not  to  leave  the  Fort,  as  he  did  not  like 
the  way  the  Indians  acted,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  all  their  movements 
as  learned  from  his  Indian  allies,  who  deserted  him  the  moment  the  firing 
commenced.  Capt.  N.  Heald's  story  is  as  I  heard  it  from  the  mouth  of  the 
one  who  saw  it  all,  the  girl  and  her  mother,  the  one  living  in  our  family  for 
many  years,  and  the  mother  in  Detroit.  Their  name  was  Cooper. 

Capt.  Wells,  soon  after  leaving  the  Indians,  was  appointed,  at  the  request  of 
Gen.  Wayne,  and  was  with  him  in  his  campaign  against  the  Indians,  as 
captain  of  a  company  of  spies,  and  many  thrilling  accounts  were  given  me  of 
his  daring  and  remarkable  adventures  as  such,  related  by  one  who  received 
them  from  his  own  lips,  and  in  confirmation  of  one  of  his  adventures  pointed 
at  an  Indian  present,  and  said,  "That  Indian,"  says  he,  "belongs  to  me,  and 
sticks  to  me  like  a  brother,"  and  then  told  how  he  captured  him  with  his 
rifle  on  his  shoulder.  This  Indian  was  the  one  who  gave  Mrs.  Wells  the 
first  intimation  of  his  death  and  then  disappeared;  supposed  to  have  returned 
to  his  people. 

A.  H.  EDWARDS. 

FORT  WAYNE,  4th  June,  1805. 

I  do  hereby  certify  that  I  joined  Doctor  Abraham  Edwards  and  Ruthy  Hunt  in  the 
Holy  Bonds  of  Matrimony  on  the  third  instant,  according  to  law. 
Given  under  my  Hand  and  Seal,  the  day  and  year  above  written, 

WILLIAM    WELLS,  ESQ. 


56  FORT   DEARBORN. 

FURTHER  STATEMENT  OF  MR.  EDWARDS. 

SHEBOYGAN,  Wis.,  June  10,  1881. 

Your  letter  of  the  5th  came  to  hand  to-day.  The  person  I  named  as  being 
present  at  the  massacre  was  Isabella  Cooper,  daughter  of  —  —  Cooper, 

one  of  the  soldiers  who  was  killed  during  the  fight.  Her  account,  as  given  to 
me,  as  also  her  mother's,  was  that,  as  soon  as  all  the  soldiers  were  disposed 
of,  the  Indians  made  a  rush  for  the  wagons,  where  the  women  and  children 
were.  Her  mother  and  sister,  younger  than  herself,  were  taken  from  the 
wagons  and  carried  away.  A  young  Indian  boy,  about  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  old,  dragged  her  by  the  hair  out  of  the  wagon;  and  she  bit  and  scratched 
him  so  badly  that  he  finally  scalped  her,  and  would  have  killed  her  if  an  old 
squaw  had  not  prevented  him.  I  think  she  married  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Farnum,  and  lived  many  years  in  Detroit.  Her  mother  died  there  about  the 
year  1823.  The  sisters  were  living  in  Detroit,  in  1828.  I  have  since  heard 
they  were  living  in  Mackinaw.  I  do  not  know  the  first  name  of  Cooper. 
He  was  killed,  and  the  girl  said  she  saw  her  father's  scalp  in  the  hands  of 
one  of  the  Indians  afterward.  He  had  sandy  hair.  I  think  she  said  they 
were  Scotch.  Isabella  had  children.  The  girl  said  she  saw  Wells  when  he 
fell  from  his  horse,  and  that  his  face  was  painted.  What  became  of  her 
sister  I  do  not  know,  as  I  left  Detroit,  in  1823,  but  my  father  and  mother 
remained  there  until  1828.  You  will  receive  with  this  a  statement  written 
by  my  father,  [see  following  "Reminiscences  of  Abraham  Edwards"],  regard- 
ing himself,  a  short  time  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  October,  .1860, 
at  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  where  he  had  resided  for  many  years.  The  statement 
will  give  you  all  the  information  in  regard  to  himself,  as  well  as  who  my 
mother  was.  Her  father  [Thomas  Hunt]  was  appointed  a  surgeon  in  the 
army  directly  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  where  he  was  brought  into 
notice  by  an  act  of  gallantry,  then  only  a  boy  of  fifteen.  He  remained  in  the 
army  until  his  death,  in  1808,  in  command  of  his  regiment,  at  Bellefontaine, 
Missouri.  His  sons  and  grandsons  have  been  his  representatives  in  the  army 
ever  since.  Capt.  Thomas  Hunt,  named  in  your  letter,  was  a  son,  and  the 
present  Gen.  Henry  J.  Hunt,  of  the  Artillery,  and  Gen.  Lewis  C.  Hunt, 
commanding  the  4th  Infantry,  grandsons;  whose  father  (my  mother's  brother) 
was  Capt.  Samuel  W.  Hunt,  of  the  army. 

My  grandfather,  Thomas  Hunt,  was  a  captain  under  Lafayette,  and  was 
wounded  at  Yorktown  in  storming  a  redoubt  of  the  British.  Afterward  he 
was  with  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  in  his  campaign  against  the  Indians,  and  was 
left  in  command  of  Fort  Wayne  as  its  first  commander  after  the  subjugation 
of  the  Indians. 

Capt.  Wm.  Wells  was  acting  Indian-agent  and  Justice-of-the-Peace  at  Fort 
Wayne  at  the  time  he  married  my  father  and  mother,  and  was  considered  a 
remarkably  brave  and  resolute  man.  I  will  give  you  a  sketch  of  one  of  his 
feats,  as  told  me  by  my  mother  who  was  present  and  witnessed  it  all.  The 
Indians  were  collected  at  Fort  Wayne  on  their  way  for  the  purpose  of  meet- 
ing the  Miamis  and  other  Indians  in  council.  While  camped  there,  they 
invited  the  officers  of  the  Fort  to  come  out  to  witness  a  grand  dance  and 
other  performances,  previous  to  their  departure  for  the  Indian  conference. 
Wells  advised  the  commander  of  the  Fort  not  to  go,  as  he  did  not  like  the 
actions  of  the  Indians;  but  his  advice  was  overruled,  and  all  hands  went  out, 
including  the  officers'  ladies.  But  the  troops  in  the  Fort  were  on  the  alert, 
their  guns  were  loaded  and  the  sentries  were  doubled,  as  it  was  in  the  even- 
ing. A  very  large  tent  was  provided  for  the  purpose  of  the  grand  dance. 
After  many  preliminary  dances  and  talks,  a  large  and  powerful  chief  arose 
and  commenced  his  dance  around  the  ring,  and  made  many  flourishes  of  his 


APPENDIX — LETTER   FROM   A.  H.  EDWARDS.  5/ 

tomahawk.  Then  he  came  up  to  Wells,  who  stood  next  to  my  mother,  and 
spoke  in  Indian,  and  made  demonstrations  with  his  axe  that  looked  dangerous, 
and  then  took  his  seat.  But  no  sooner  than  he  did  so,  \Vells  gave  one  of  the 
most  unearthly  war-whoops  she  ever  heard,  and  sprang  up  into  the  air  as  high 
as  her  head,  and  picked  up  the  jaw-bone  of  a  horse  or  ox  that  lay  near  by, 
and  went  around  the  ring  in  a  more  vigorous  and  artistic  Indian  style  than 
had  been  seen  that  evening;  and  wound  up  by  going  up  to  the  big  Indian  and 
nourished  his  jaw-bone,  and  told  him  that  he  had  killed  more  Indians  than 
he  had  white  men,  and  had  killed  one  that  looked  just  like  him,  and  he 
believed  it  was  his  brother,  only  a  much  better  looking  and  better  brave  than 
he  was.  The  Indians  were  perfectly  taken  by  surprise.  Wells  turned  to  the 
officers  and  told  them  to  be  going.  He  hurried  them  off  to  the  Fort,  and 
had  all  hands  on  the  alert  during  the  night.  When  questioned  as  to  his 
actions  and  what  he  said,  he  replied  that  he  told  the  Indians  what  I  have 
related.  Then  he  enquired  of  those  who  were  present  if  they  did  not  see 
that  the  Indians  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tent  had  their  rifles 
wrapped  up  in  their  blankets.  If  I  had  not  done  just  as  I  did,  and  talked  to 
that  Indian  as  I  did,  we  would  all  have  been  shot  in  five  minutes;  but  my 
actions  required  a  council  as  their  plans  were  (as  they  supposed)  frustrated,  and 
that  the  troops  would  be  down  on  them  at  the  first  hostile  move  they  made. 
He  saw  the  game  when  he  first  went  in,  as  his  Indian  training  taught  him, 
and  he  waited  just  for  the  demonstration  that  was  made  as  the  signal  for 
action.  Wells  saw  no  time  was  to  be  lost  and  made  good  his  resolves,  and 
the  big  Indian  cowed  under  the  demonstrations  of  Wells.  My  mother  said 
he  looked  as  if  he  expected  Wells  to  make  an  end  of  him  for  what  he  had 
said  to  Wells  in  his  dance.  "  I  had  to  meet  bravado  with  bravado,  and  I 
think  I  beat,"  said  Wells.  You  could  see  it  in  the  countenances  of  all  the 
Indians.  The  same  advice  given  to  Heald,  if  listened  to,  would  have  saved 
the  massacre  of  Fort  Dearborn. 

My  brother's  full  name  (who  was  at  the  Fort  in  Chicago,  in  1832)  was 
Thomas  Aaron  Hunt  Edwards,  named  after  both  grandfathers.  He  was 
partially  educated  at  West  Point,  and  had  the  military  experience  of  that 
institution.  He  died  at  Yankton,  Dakota,  about  ten  years  since. 

In  Wayne's  campaigns,  he  penetrated  the  Indian  country  as  far  as  Fort 
Wayne,  built  the  Fort,  and  left  my  grandfather,  Thomas  Hunt,  in  command, 
as  I  have  before  stated. 

The  Capt.  Anderson  I  was  with,  at  Chicago,  lived  and  died  in  Monroe, 
Michigan,  and  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Mrs.  Robert  Clark,  of  Chicago,  whose 
son  was  the  Republican  candidate  for  mayor  of  Chicago  this  spring. 

The  Capt.  Thomas  Hunt,  who  died  in  Detroit,  February  16,  1838,  had 
been  in  the  army;  and,  on  account  of  a  wound  received  in  the  battle  of 
Niagara,  in  the  war  of  1812,  was  assigned  to  duty  in  Washington  until  after 
1830.  He  then  resigned  and  was  appointed  Register  of  land-office,  at  Detroit. 

You  will  see  by  my  father's  statement,  that  he  was  the  Abraham  Edwards 
that  was  appointed  surgeon,  in  1804,  and  resigned  in  June  I,  1810. 

I  send  a  commission  issued  to  my  father  to  be  a  Justice-of-the-Peace  by 
William  H.  Harrison,  while  Governor  of  Indiana,  in  1805.  Endorsed  on 
this  is  his  authority  for  Capt.  Wm.  Wells  to  administer  the  necessary  oath. 

I  could  inform  you  as  to  all  the  circumstances  attending  the  abandonment 
by  Capt.  Wells  of  his  Indian  life,  as  related  to  me  by  my  father,  and  coming 
direct  from  Capt.  Wells  himself,  being  very  interesting  to  me.  I  have  laid  it 
up  in  my  memory's  store-house  as  something  to  tell  some  day  to  those  who 
might  wish  to  hear  it.  [See  Knapp's  History  of  Maumee  Valley. ~\ 

I  notice  in  No.  7  of  Fergus'  Historical  Series  something  said  about  the  first 
steamboat  arriving  at  Chicago.  The  first  boat  built  and  run  on  the  lakes  was 


58  FORT   DEARBORN. 

the  Walk-in-the-Waier,  in  1818,  and  wrecked  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year. 
The  Superior  came  out  next  spring,  and  had  a  delegation  of  Oneida  Indians- 
for  Green  Bay  on  board.  I  think  she  landed  them  there;  but  am  not  certain 
if  she  went  to  Chicago.  We  lived  in  Detroit  then. 

You  say  Walk-in-the-  Water  came  up  to  Green  Bay,  in  1821.  Was  it  not 
the  Superior?  My  impression  is  that  the  former  boat  was  wrecked  the  same 
season  or  the  next  after  her  coming  out,  and  that  she  did  not  come  into  the 
upper  lakes  any  further  than  Mackinaw.  But  I  may  be  mistaken. 

The  description  you  give  in  your  reminiscences  of  Early  Chicago,  No.  8 
Fergus'  Historical  Series,  pp.  22  and  23,  relative  to  the  death  of  Tecumseh, 
at  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  as  related  by  Shabonee,  is  a  very  correct  one.  I 
have  heard  my  father  and  Gen.  Lewis  Cass  talk  over  all  the  circumstances 
attending  Tecumseh's  death.  My  father  arrived  in  Detroit  soon  after  the 
battle,  and  had  charge  of  some  of  the  captured  British  officers,  and  also 
became  acquainted  with  some  of  the  Kentucky  soldiers  of  Johnson's  Regi- 
ment, who  gave  him  a  full  account  of  the  fight,  and  the  wounding  of  their 
colonel,  and  the  death  of  Tecumseh.  It  was  Tecumseh  that  wounded  John- 
son. His  ball  first  passed  through  the  neck  of  Johnson's  horse  and  into  Col. 
Johnson's  arm;  and,  as  the  horse  plunged  forward,  Col.  Johnson  fell.  Te- 
cumseh sprang  out  with  his  tomahawk  and  knife.  At  the  same  moment 
Johnson  fired  and  the  chief  fell,  pierced  in  the  breast,  the  ball  passing  down- 
ward, as  was  afterward  ascertained  by  those  sent  from  Detroit  the  next  day 
after  the  battle,  to  examine  the  body  of  the  chief  and  to  identify  it.  As  the 
Indians  denied  that  Tecumseh  was  killed,  Gen.  Cass  sent  an  old  Frenchman, 
by  the  name  of  Schien,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  Tecumseh;  and,  upon 
looking  on  the  face,  he  pronounced  it  Tecumseh,  and  said  he  has  a  scar  on 
his  back  plainly  to  be  seen,  and  turned  the  body  over,  and  (sure  enough) 
there  it  was.  Then  the  question  arose;  did  Col.  Johnson  kill  him?  Which 
was  answered  affirmatively  by  the  Kentuckians  present,  who  were  in  the 
fight,  and  who  rushed  forward  when  their  colonel  fell,  as  did  also  the  Indians 
to  protect  their  chief.  The  Kentuckians  clubbed  their  rifles  and  brained 
many  of  the  Indians  who  laid  around  their  chief  as  well  as  some  of  the 
whites,  who  fell  defending  their  colonel.  Gen.  Cass  said  he  had  not  the  least 
doubt  but  that  Col.  Johnson  was  the  one  who  killed  Tecumseh.  The  Pro- 
phet, Tecumseh's  brother,  was  in  a  canoe  with  Gen.  Cass,  Col.  Geo.  Croghan,. 
Col.  Johnson,  and  my  father,  going  to  Mackinaw  to  attend  a  conference  with 
the  Indians.  The  colonel  was  pointed  out  to  the  Prophet  as  the  man  who- 
killed  Tecumseh;  but  the  Prophet  replied  that  the  man  was  not  living  who 
killed  his  brother,  for  Tecumseh  had  killed  the  man  who  shot  him  at  the 
same  time.  Col.  J.  told  my  father  about  the  time,  or  soon  after,  that  he  did 
not  know  whether  he  had  killed  Tecumseh  or  not;  but  he  was  sure  he  had 
killed  a  big  chief  from  his  dress.  The  fact  of  the  ball  entering  Tecumseh's 
breast  and  ranging  downward,  showed  that  he  was  hit  from  some  place  above 
him.  The  battle-cry  of  the  Kentuckians  was  "  Remember  the  Massacre  at 
River  Raisin."  [Gen.  James  Winchester  was  defeated,  January  22,  1813,  at 
Frenchtown  on  the  River  Raisin,  and  his  troops  massacred  by  the  Indians.] 
The  great  chief  killed  by  their  colonel  lost  some  of  his  skin  to  sharpen  the 
razors  of  his  enemies,  as  some  of  them  had  razor-straps  taken  from  his  legs. 
Had  they  known  at  the  time  that  it  was  Tecumseh  they  said  they  would  not 
have  done  it.  They  considered  him  a  better  man  than  Gen.  Henry  A. 
Proctor,  who  commanded  at  the  River  Raisin.  They  would  have  skinned 
him  alive  if  they  had  caught  him. 

Indeed  it  was  not  entirely  safe  for  an  Indian  to  visit  Detroit  as  late  as  1816, 
on  account  of  the  massacre  at  the  River  Raisin,  if  a  Kentuckian  was  about. 
The  celebrated  chief  Red  Jacket  came  very  near  being  a  victim  to  this  rage. 


APPENDIX — SKETCH   OF   ABRAHAM   EDWARDS.         59 

A  young  man,  brought  to  Detroit  by  my  father  to  act  as  clerk  in  the  store, 
whose  father  was  one  of  the  victims  of  Winchester's  defeat  at  River  Raisin, 
happened  to  get  sight  of  Red  Jacket  while  in  Detroit.  He  loaded  a  gun  and 
laid  in  wait  to  shoot  him  as  he  went  out  of  town.  My  father,  missing  the 
young  man,  went  in  pursuit  of  him,  as  he  was  told  by  some  one  that  had 
seen  him  going  out  of  town  with  a  gun.  He  was  found  secreted  in  a  barn 
very  near  to  the  road,  where  the  chief  would  have  to  travel.  On  being  asked 
what  he  was  going  to  do,  he  replied  that  he  had  seen  an  Indian  chief  in 
town  with  his  father's  vest  on,  and  he  was  going  to  kill  him  and  take  if  off 
from  him.  It  took  a  good  deal  of  persuasion  to  induce  him  to  give  up  his 
gun  and  return  to  the  store,  and  by  the  first  opportunity  he  was  sent  home. 

I  saw  a  Kentuckian  knock  an  Indian  down  with  his  fist  and  stamp  him, 
and  he  would  have  killed  him  had  he  not  been  stopped.  This  happened  in 
the  street  of  Detroit  some  years  after.  A.  H.  EDWARDS. 

[Mr.  Edwards  sends  with  this  a  Book  which  was  the  Ledger  of  his  father, 
kept  at  Detroit,  from  1817  to  1824.  In  it  there  is  an  account  against  "The 
Chicago  Trading  House,"  commencing  August  -12,  1817,  and  ending  June  6, 
1821.] 

REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  EDWARDS. 
"Abraham  Edwards  (eldest  son  of  the  late  Capt.  Aaron  Edwards)  was  born 
at  Springfield,  New  Jersey,  November  I7th,  1781;  and  was  licensed  to  prac- 
tise medicine  in  the  autumn  of  1803.  In  June,  1804,  he  was  appointed,  by 
President  Jefferson,  garrison -surgeon,  and  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Gen. 
Dearborn,  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Wayne,  (Indiana),  where,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1805,  he  was  married  to  Ruthy  Hunt,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Col. 
Thomas  Hunt,  then  commanding  the  ist  regiment  of  United  States  Infantry 
at  Fort  Wayne.  Their  three  eldest  children  were  born  there — Thomas, 
Alexander,  and  Henry.  In  1810,  on  account  of  the  sickness  of  Mrs.  Ed- 
wards, the  doctor  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army,  in  the  spring  of  1810, 
and  removed  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  the  autumn  of  1811,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature 
from  the  County  of  Montgomery,  of  which  Dayton  was  the  county-seat;  and 
in  March,  1812,  he  was  appointed  captain,  by  President  Madison,  in  the  igth 
Regiment  U.  S.  Infantry.  As  the  prospects  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain  were 
apparent,  Gen.  Hull  was  ordered  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  to  organize  an  army,  with 
which  he  was  to  proceed  to  Detroit  to  protect  that  frontier.  Three  regiments 
of  Ohio  volunteers  were  at  Dayton  when  the  General  arrived.  The  regiments 
were  commanded  by  Cols.  Duncan  McArthur,  Lewis  Cass,  and  James  Find- 
lay.  The  4th  Regiment  U.S.  Infantry,  commanded  by  Col.  James  Miller, 
joined  the  volunteer  regiments  at  Urbana,  to  which  place  they  had  marched 
a  few  days  previously.  Gen.  Wm.  Hull  had  been  authorized  by  the  President 
(Mr.  Madison)  to  organize  his  army  staff,  and,  as  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of 
surgeon  existed  in  the  4th  Regiment  U.S.  Infantry,  Dr.  Edwards  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy  during  the  campaign,  and  was  also  ordered  to 
take  charge  of  the  medical  department  of  the  army  as  hospital-surgeon,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  until  the  inglorious  surrender  of  the  army  at 
Detroit,  August  i6th,  i8i2.  Here  he  was  paroled  by  Gen.  Isaac  Brock,  and 
permitted  to  return  to  his  residence  in  Ohio.  After  being  exchanged,  he  was 
ordered  to  Chillicothe,  as  a  captain  in  the  line  of  the  army,  to  superintend  the 
recruiting  service  of  that  State.  In  November,  1813,  he  received  an  order 
from  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  who  was  then  in  command  of  Detroit,  to  proceed  to 
that  place  to  take  command  of  about  200  men  belonging  to  the  igth  Regi- 
ment. During  the  same  month  he  arrived  at  Detroit,  and  assumed  the  com- 
mand as  before  mentioned.  In  December,  of  the  same  year,  he  received  an 


60  FORT   DEARBORN. 

order  from  the  War  Department  to  accompany  Gen.  Cass,  and  other  officers, 
to  Albany,  as  witnesses  in  the  court-martial  about  to  assemble  for  the  trial  of 
Gen.  Hull.  During  the  winter  of  1814  and  '15,  he  visited  Washington,  and 
was  appointed,  by  the  President,  department  quartermaster-deputy,  with  the 
rank  of  major,  and  ordered  to  Pittsburg  to  take  charge  of  the  U.S.  stores  at 
that  place,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1815.  It  was 
then  left  at  his  option  to  be  retained  in  the  army,  on  the  peace  establishment, 
as  a  captain  in  the  line;  but  he  chose  the  walks  of  private  life.  He  retired 
from  the  army  in  October,  1815,  and  removed  to  Detroit.  When  President 
Monroe  made  his  tour,  of  the  United  States,  in  1816  and  1817,  and  visited 
Detroit,  Major  Edwards  was  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  with 
the  corporate  authorities  of  Detroit,  visited  the  President  at  Gov.  Cass' 
residence,  and  tendered  him  the  hospitalities  of  the  town.  A  few  days  after, 
when  he  was  about  to  leave  for  Ohio,  he  made  him  another  visit,  and  in  the 
name  of  the  corporation  presented  him  with  a  pair  of  horses  and  wagon  to 
convey  his  baggage  to  Ohio. 

In  1818,  Gov.  Cass  organized  the  militia,  and  made  appointments  in  the 
same.  Major  Edwards  was  appointed  first  Aid  to  the  Commander-in-Chief 
with  the  rank  of  colonel. 

In  1823,  the  first  Legislative  Council  for  Michigan  Territory  was  elected, 
and  in  1824,  the  first  Legislative  Session  was  held  at  Detroit,  and  Major 
Edwards  was  unanimously  elected  President  of  the  Council,  which  place  he 
filled  for  eight  years. 

In  the  month  of  March,  1831,  he  was  appointed  Register  of  the  U.S.  land- 
office  for  the  Western  District  of  Michigan,  by  President  Jackson.  Previous 
to  this  appointment  he  had  held  the  office  of  sub-Indian  agent  for  the  Indians 
residing  in  the  St.  Joseph  Country  of  Michigan  and  Northern  Indiana.  The 
office  of  Register  of  U.  S.  lands  was  held  by  him  until  after  the  election  of 
Gen.  Taylor,  when  he  was  removed  from  office  for  being  a  Democrat. 

Major  Edwards  was  one  of  the  Presidential  electors  for  the  State  of  Michi- 
gan, and  cast  his  vote  for  Franklin  Pierce,  for  President,  and  W.  R.  King,  for 
Vice- President. " 

My  father  was  nearly  eighty  years  old  when  he  wrote  the  foregoing.  A.  H.  E. 


E. 
CULTIVATION  OF  LAND  BY  THE  SOLDIERS. 

Under  the  head  of  General  Regulations  of  the  Army,  September  n,  1818, 
is  the  following : 

"A  more  extensive  cultivation  will  be  commenced  at  Chicago  and  other 
posts.  *  *  *  This  cultivation  of  any  public  land,  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated, in  the  vicinity  of  the  garrisons  and  posts,  shall  be  carried  on  by  the 
troops,  under  the  direction  of  the  several  commanding  officers  of  the  posts, 
and  will  embrace  the  bread  and  other  substantial  vegetable  parts  of  the 
ration." — American  State  Papers,  Military  Aff's,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  265. 


F. 
LETTER  FROM  SHABONEE  AND  SAUGANASH. 

[The  following  letter,  written  in  the  midst  of  an  excited  political  contest, 
by  some  friend,  for  the  chiefs  to  sign,  is  inserted  to  show  their  personal 
history  and  experience.  Caldwell  could  read  and  write  English.  Shabonee 
could  not.]  From  the  Chicago  D.iily  American,  9th  June,  1840. 


APPENDIX — SPEECH   OF   HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH.     6 1 

COUNCIL  BLUFFS,  March  23d,  1840. 
To  GEN.  HARRISON'S  FRIENDS: 

The  other  day,  several  newspapers  were  brought  to  us;  and,  peeping  over 
them,  to  our  astonishment,  we  found  that  the  hero  of  the  late  war  was  called 
a  coward.  This  would  have  surprised  the  tall  braves,  Tecumseh  of  the 
Shawnees,  and  Round  Head  and  Walk-in-the- Water  of  the  Wyandotts.  If 
the  departed  could  rise  again,  they  would  say  to  the  white  man  that  Gen. 
Harrison  was  the  terror  of  the  late  tomahawkers.  The  first  time  we  got 
acquainted  with  General  Harrison,  it  was  at  the  council-fire  of  the  late  Old 
Tempest,  Gen.  Wayne,  on  the  headquarters  of  the  Wabash,  at  Greenville, 
1796.  From  that  time  until  1811,  we  had  many  friendly  smokes  with  him; 
but  from  1812  we  changed  our  tobacce  smoke  into  powder  smoke.  Then  we 
found  Gen.  Harrison  was  a  brave  warrior  and  humane  'to  his  prisoners,  as 
reported  to  us  by  two  of  Tecumseh's  young  men,  who  were  taken  in  the  fleet 
with  Capt.  Barclay  on  the  loth  of  September,  1813,  and  on  the  Thames 
where  he  routed  both  the  red  men  and  the  British,  and  where  he  showed  his 
courage  and  his  humanity  to  his  prisoners,  both  white  and  red.  See  report., 
of  Adam  Brown  and  family,  taken  on  the  morning  of  the  battle  October  yh.jlC 
1 813.  We  are  the  only  two  surviving  of  that  day  in  this  country.  We  hope"/ 
rtlfi  good  white  men  will  protect  the  name  of  Gen.  Harrison.  We  remain 
your  friends  forever. 

CHAMBLEE,  [SHABONEE],  Aid  to  Tecumseh. 

B.  CALDWELL,  [SAUGANASH],  Captain. 


G. 
REPLY   OF    HON.   JOHN   WENTWORTH    TO    HON.    CLEMENT 

L.  VALLANDIGHAM. 
From  the  Chicago  Tribune,  August  a8th,  1864.  IT 

The  following  report  of  the  reply  of  the  Hon.  John  Wentworth,  to  Val-  ^- 

landigham,  made  at  the  gathering  in  the  Court-House  Square,  on  Friday 
evening,  was  inadvertently  omitted  from  our  report  in  Saturday's  issue : 

On  the  retirement  of  Vallandigham  from  the  steps,  the  crowd  called  for 
"Long  John,"  "Wentworth,"  the  two  names  being  synonomous  in  Chicago 
for  our  last  appointed  Police  Commissioner.  Mr.  Wentworth  appeared  upon 
the  stand,  and  said : 

I  am  pleased  with  the  opportunity,  which  your  call  affords  me,  to  lay  my 
own  views  of  public  policy  and  public  affairs  before  you,  and  in  so  doing,  I 
trust  I  shall  not  be  deemed  an  intruder,  for  I  would  not  thrust  myself  before 
you,  nor  press  my  views  upon  unwilling  ears. 

It  has  long  been  a  part  of  my  political  ethics,  that  the  true  method  of  dis- 
cussing public  affairs  was,  for  the  pros  and  cons  to  go  together  before  the 
people.  In  every  public  address  for  the  past  years  of  my  life,  I  have 
enforced  the  correctness  of  this  understanding.  I,  therefore,  re.]uest  the 
attention  of  all,  for  I  am  no  party  man.  I  am  chained  to  the  partizan  car  of 
no  class,  no  interest,  no  organization.  To  my  country,  and  my  country  alone, 
do  I  owe  fealty  and  render  homage.  I  love  my  country.  It  nurtured  me  in 
my  youth,  it  honored  me  in  my  manhood,  and  now,  when  I  have  passed  the 
meridian  of  life,  I  love  to  respond  to  any  call  to  plead  in  her  behalf.  As 
we  cast  our  eyes  over  the  land,  and  witness  the  tears  that  everywhere  prevail, 
and  the  dangers  that  now  environ  the  republic,  the  heart  of  the  patriot  sinks 
with  doubt  and  dread.  War,  with  all  its  dread  calamities  following  in  its 
train,  is  convulsing  the  nation.  The  art  of  arms  has  succeeded  the  pursuits  of 
peace,  and  nearly  a  million  of  men  confront  each  other  in  battle  array. 
Amid  the  horrors  of  war,  we  naturally  look  and  long  for  peace.  The 


02  FORT   DEARBORN. 

fathers  and  mothers  of  Chicago,  whose  sons  are  braving  the  hazards  of  battle 
and  the  perils  of  disease,  long  for  peace.  The  wives  of  Illinois,  whose  hus- 
bands have  perished,  or  are  perishing,  in  the  terrible  struggle,  send  up  their 
daily  prayers  for  the  cessation  of  the  strife.  My  own  wish  and  hope  is  for 
peace.  My  regret,  when  the  maddened  traitors  of  South  Carolina  fired  upon 
the  national  ensign,  and  forced  the  Federal  authority  into  a  conflict,  was  not 
more  keen  and  poignant  than  my  joy  will  be  deep  and  sweet  when  they  lay 
down  their  arms  and  cease  the  warfare  they  then  so  wickedly,  foolishly,  and 
devilishly  inaugurated.  This  is  the  peace  for  which  we  hope,  for  which  we 
pray,  for  which  we  fight. 

The  struggle  is  like  every  conflict  that  has  ever  existed  since  Time  began, 
and  if  we  would  have  a  termination  of  the  struggle  we  must  conquer.  The 
road  to  victory  is  the  road  to  peace.  It  is  to  this  alternative  that  we  are 
driven — a  shameful  surrender  or  a  certain  triumphant  lasting  victory,  and  con- 
sequently peace. 

I  have  listened,  with  great  interest,  to  the  eloquent  and  well-considered  re- 
marks of  that  peculiar  Democratic  champion  who  has  just  addressed  you  from 
the  stand.  I  have  heard  him  bewail  in  feeling,  touching  terms  the  existence 
and  continuance  of  this  accursed  war.  In  terms  of  indignation  he  has  in- 
veighed against  the  Federal  administration  for  the  part  it  has  had  to  act  in  the 
bloody  drama.  But,  while  he  was  thus  depricating  war  and  violence,  I  lis- 
tened, in  vain,  for  one  single  breath  of  censure,  for  one  word  of  reproof  from 
his  lips  of  those  who  first  madly  unchained  the  ugly  demon,  and  let  loose  the 
storm  of  deadly  hate.  Why  were  not  the  vials  of  his  wrath  poured  upon  the 
head  of  the  infamous  Beauregard,  and  the  insurgent  government  of  Mont- 
gomery, who  basely  trained  their  cannon  upon  a  citidel  floating  the  national 
flag,  and  shed  the  first  blood  in  this  fraternal  fight?  Not  a  Federal  gun  had 
been  fired,  not  an  act  of  hostility  committed,  when  the  rebellious  chief,  acting 
as  Secretary  of  War  for  a  rebel  government,  telegraphed  the  fatal  order — 
"  Open  fire  upon  Fort  Sumpter. "  Then  the  strife  began.  But  this  denuncia- 
tor of  war,  this  deprecator  of  strife,  this  messenger  of  peace,  in  his  speech 
to-night,  running  through  nearly  an  hour  and  a-half,  had  not  a  word  of 
denunciation  and  reproof  for  those  who,  before  God  and  man,  are  guilty  of  its 
commencement.  Why  this  omission?  Why  this  studied  silence  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Vallandigham?  Why  are  his  invectives  directed  solely  to  the  general 
government  which,  when  assailed,  only  then  attacked?  Does  Mr.  Vallandig- 
ham wish  to  be  understood  that  the  acts  of  the  traitors,  in  opening  the  strife, 
is  not  worthy  of  censure,  while  the  act  of  the  government  in  opposing  force 
to  force,  is  entitled  to  an  hour's  temperate  denunciations?  I  draw  no  un- 
charitable inferences.  I  arraign  not  the  purity  or  honesty  of  his  motives,  but 
I  submit  that  these  things  are  worthy  of  remembrance.  If  you,  my  friends, 
are  quietly  marching  along  the  street  and  are  brutally  assaulted,  and  fight 
back,  as  becomes  a  man,  would  you  not  say  to  the  man  who  denounced  you 
for  striking  back,  but  had  no  word  of  censure  for  your  assailant,  would  you 
not  say  to  him,  I  ask,  that  he  was  your  enemy,  and  would  have  tossed  up  his 
hat  at  your  defeat?  Nor  would  the  inference  be  unjust.  My  Peace  Friends, 
if  the  Republicans  should  assail  your  gathering  here  to-night  and  fire  on  your 
assembly,  would  you  be  responsible  for  the  fight  which  might  ensue?  And 
how  would  you  obtain  peace?  By  vacating  the  square,  or  by  enforcing 
respect  for  the  laws? 

But  Mr.  Vallandigham  tells  us  to  accept  peace,  to  stop  fighting  and  nego- 
tiate for  a  reconstruction.  Sir,  we  want  no  "  reconstruction. "  The  old  Con- 
stitution, the  Union  as  it  was,  and  the  Constitution  as  it  is,  the  Constitution 
of  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madison  is  all  we  desire.  Under  that  Gov- 
ernment we  lived  and  prospered,  and  were  happy.  Under  it  the  West  grew 


APPENDIX — SPEECH   OF    HON.    JOHN   WENTWORTH.     63 

up,  expanded,  peopled  with  millions  of  men,  and  under  it  Chicago  rose  to  be 
the  pride  of  the  North- West  and  glory  of  the  continent;  and  when  a  man 
talks  to  me  about  reconstruction,  or  prates  of  a  new  Union,  I  mark  him  as  an 
enemy  of  my  country  and  the  robber  of  my  children.  The  old  Union  with 
its  glorious  memories,  its  unfulfilled  hopes,  its  history  blazing  upon  every  page 
with  words  and  deeds  of  deathless  glory,  all  bind  me  to  the  old  Union,  and 
cause  me  to  abhor  the  name  of  reconstruction.  I  would  say  to  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio,  and  those  who  think  with  him :  "  In  God's  name  say  no  more  of 
,  reconstruction. "  But,  sinking  every  other  consideration,  forgetting  all  other 
motives,  moved  by  no  other  impulse,  let  your  zeal,  your  efforts,  and  your 
energies,  all  be  directed  to  the  maintenance  of  the  old  Constitution.  That  is 
hallowed  by  the  memory  of  Washington,  the  glorious  history  of  our  revolu- 
tionary struggle,  and  dearer,  by  far,  is  it  to  us  and  our  children,  than  any  new- 
fangled combination  that  can  be  hatched  by  any  convention. 

It  is  rarely  that  any  good  comes  out  of  a  convention,  and  the  proposed 
convention  of  the  States,  both  rebel  and  loyal,  is  the  most  unpromising  of  the 
entire  brood.  If  we  want  peace  then,  let  us  conquer.  If  the  South  want 
peace,  let  them  lay  down  their  arms  and  cease  war.  Then  will  I  be  willing  to 
deal  with  them  justly  and  generously.  Then  will  I  try  to  forget  the  rivers 
of  Northern  blood  they  have  shed  in  their  unholy  struggle  for  slavery.  Then 
will  I  try  to  forget  the  thousands  they  have  slain,  the  homes  they  have 
bereaved,  the  hopes  they  have  crashed,  and  the  hearts  they  have  broken. 
But  while  an  arm  wields  a  sabre,  while  the  Constitution  is  defied  and  the  laws 
laughed  to  scorn,  I  will  uphold  the  authority  whose  solemn  oath  was,  that 
the  Constitution  should  be  preserved  and  the  laws  maintained. 

But  Mr.  Vallandigham  told  you  that  the  government  could  never  be  held 
together  by  coercive  force,  that  power,  brought  to  apply  upon  the  unruly, 
could  never  reduce  them  to  obedience.  Was  there  ever  a  greater  heresy 
uttered  by  the  mouth  of  man?  No  coercion!  W'hy,  gentlemen,  the  coercive 
power  of  government  is  the  only  safety  and  salvation  of  society.  No  govern- 
ment, no  community  can  exist  an  hour  without  it.  It  was  the  weakness  of 
the  articles  of  the  old  Confederation  that  they  conferred  no  coercive  power, 
and  the  statesman  of  that  day  saw  the  pressing  necessity  of  the  new  Constitu- 
tion. Take  to-day,  from  municipal  and  governmental  organization,  the  power 
of  coercion,  and  society  goes  at  once  into  anarchy  and  chaos.  The  weak 
would  become  the  modern  prey  of  the  strong,  and  might  would,  indeed, 
become  right.  I  have  been  told  that  there  are  those  who  would  disturb  the 
quiet  of  gathering  in  this  City.  We,  the  authorities  of  the  City,  coerce  them 
into  respect  of  law.  Surely  you  should  not  denounce  coercion.  That  glorious 
old  war-horse  of  Democracy,  Gen.  Jackson,  from  whose  lips  I  inhaled  the 
pure  inspiration  of  Democracy,  and  at  whose  feet  I  received  the  first  lessons 
of  political  and  governmental  duty,  was  gloriously  free  from  this  modern 
heresy.  His  celebrated  proclamation  against  the  nullifiers,  in  which  coercion 
gleamed  and  glistened  in  every  line,  will  give  him  a  name  and  an  immortality 
in  history  when  the  maligners  and  denunciators  of  this  policy  shall  have  been 
forgotten.  I,  therefore,  stand  for  Gen.  Jackson,  and  against  Mr.  Vallandig- 
ham. Will  you  stand  for  Mr.  Vallandigham,  and  against  Gen.  Jackson? 

But  I  will  not  press  the  matter  further.  The  attention  you  have  given  me 
fills  me  with  gratitude,  and  leads  me  to  hope  that  the  canvass  will  not  be 
marked  by  such  bigotry  and  intolerance  as  usually  attend  political  campaigns. 
Our  interests  are  one,  our  hopes  are  identical.  Let  us,  therefore,  meet  and 
discuss  this  matter  in  a  spirit  of  fraternal  love,  and  good  will  flow  from  the 
interchange  of  opinions,  and,  together,  we  will  reap  the  rich  harvest  of 
wealth  and  glory  that  awaits  our  country.  As  the  children  of  a  common 
destiny,  the  pathway  of  our  progress  should  be  marked  by  no  shameful  bicker- 


64  FORT   DEARBORN. 

ings,  no  jadings,  no  discord.  Differ  we  may,  differ  we  must.  But  the  difference 
may  be  honest  and  the  association  not  unfriendly,  but  arm  in  arm,  two  by 
two,  let  us  push  on  in  the  race  of  civilization  and  progress,  and  reach  the 
summit  of  greatness  and  glory,  a  proud  .example  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and 
tolerant  people  who  love  Union,  Liberty,  and  Law;  who,  when  their  country 
was  assailed,  defended  it,  and  when  treason  reared  its  bloody  banner,  beat  it 
back,  and  handed  down  to  posterity  the  rich  legacy  of  their  fathers. 


H. 
CHICAGO'S  EARLY  DEFENDERS. 

In  my  pursuit  of  the  names  of  the  early  settlers  of  Chicago,  a 
friend  has  presented  me  with  the  following,  which  he  assures  me 
was  copied,  some  years  ago,  from  the  original.  The  officers  are 
all  dead.  Captain  Kerchival,  once  a  prominent  man  in  this  city, 
and  who  represented  it  in  the  Legislature  in  1838,  died  within  a 
year  or  two  in  California,  leaving  a  son  who  is  a  printer  in  this 
city.  His  widow  resides  at  East  St.  Louis,  111.,  with  her  sister, 
the  widow  of  Colonel  Thomas  J.  V.  Owen,  once  Indian  Agent 
here.  The  two  Lieutenants,  having  been  Postmasters  in  this  city, 
are  well  remembered.  Of  the  soldiers,  I  know  of  but  one  living, 
David  McKee,  of  Aurora,  111.  If  there  is  another  living,  he  is 
wanted  at  the  Chicago  Historical  Society's  rooms,  corner  of  Dear- 
born Avenue  and  Ontario  Street. 

After  this  organization,  Governor  John  Reynolds  sent  Major 
Daniel  Bailey  to  Chicago,  and  he  raised  a  battalion  of  four  com- 
panies from  the  citizens  of  Northern  Illinois.  The  pay-roll  of 
these  four  companies  of  volunteers,  I  am  told,  is  still  preserved 
at  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  it  was  sent  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing land-warrants.  It  is  hoped  that  a  copy  of  it  will  soon 
be  in  the  Chicago  Historical  Society's  library.  I  doubt  not  but 
the  names  of  many  persons  now  living  are  upon  it. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  the  paper  was  drawn  up  by  Colonel 
Richard  J.  Hamilton,  the  stepfather  of  our  present  Judge  Mtirry 
F.  Tuley.  Thirty-seven  is  the  number  capable  and  willing  to  bear 
arms  at  that  date.  There  was  no  clergymen  here  to  be  their 
chaplain,  if  they  had  wanted  one. 

Chicago,  Oct.  17,  1879.  JOHN  WENTWORTH. 

MUSTER-ROLL. 

MAY  2,  1832. — We,  the  undersigned,  agree  to  submit  our- 
selves, for  the  time  being,  to  Gholson  Kerchival,  Captain,  and 
George  W.  Dole  and  John  S.  C.  Hogan,  First  and  Second  Lieu- 
tenants, as  commanders  of  the  militia  of  the  town  of  Chicago, 
until  all  apprehension  of  danger  from  the  Indians  may  have  sub- 
sided : 


APPENDIX — SOLDIERS   OF   THE   BLACK-HAWK   WAR.    6$ 


RICHARD  J.  HAMILTON, 
JESSE  B.  BROWN, 
ISAAC  HARMON, 
SAMUEL  MILLER, 
JOHN  F.  HERNDON, 
BENJAMIN  HARRIS, 
S.  T.  GAGE, 
RUFUS  BROWN, 
JEREMIAH  SMITH, 
HEMAN  S.  BOND, 
WILLIAM  SMITH, 
ISAAC  D.  HARMON, 
JOSEPH  LAFROMBOISE, 
HENRY  BOUCHA, 
CLAUDE  LAFROMBOISE, 
J.  W.  ZARLEY, 
DAVID  WADE, 
WILLIAM 
SAMUEL  ELLIS, 


JEDDIAH  WOOLLEY, 
GEORGE  H'.  WALKER, 
A.  W.  TAYLOR, 
JAMES  KINZIE, 
DAVID  PEMETON, 
JAMES  GINSDAY, 
SAMUEL  DEBAIF, 
JOHN  WELLMAKER, 
WM.  H.  ADAMS, 
JAMES  T.  OSBORNE, 
E.  D.  HARMON, 
CHARLES  MOSELLE, 
FRANCIS  LABAQUE, 
MICHAEL  OUILMETTE, 
CHRISTOPHER  SHEDAKER, 
DAVID  McKEE, 
EZRA  BOND, 
ROBERT  THOMPSON. 


COOK  COUNTY'S  SOLDIERS  IN  THE  BLACKHAWK-   ' 

WAR. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chicago  Evening  Journal: 

I  send  you  a  list  of  the  soldiers  who  volunteered  from  this 
County  to  go  with  General  Scott  in  pursuit  of  Blackhawk.  The 
most  of  these  gentlemen  are  dead,  but  they  have  left  descendants 
who  constitute  some  of  our  most  valuable  citizens.  There  are 
many  citizens  of  Chicago  now  living  who  had  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  nearly  all  of  them.  I  have  given  the  residence 
of  those  whom  I  know  are  now  living.  Probably  others  are  living 
whose  residence  I  do  not  know.  This  list  has  been  sent  to 
Washington  and  compared  with  the  original.  Many  of  them 
resided  in  that  part  of  Cook  County  which  is  now  DuPage  Co. 

The  Fourth  Corporal  is  now  the  County  Judge  of  Dupage 
County,  and  would  be  a  good  man  for  gentlemen  of  historical 
tastes  to  interview.  JOHN  WENTWORTH. 

Chicago,  March  2,  1880. 

Muster-Roil  of  a  Company  of  Mounted  Volunteers,  in  the  Service  of 
the  United  States,  in  defence  of  the  Northern  frontier  of  the  State 
of  Illinois,  against  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  from  the  County  of 
Cook,  in  said  State,  in  the  year  1832,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Joseph  Naper: 


66 


FORT   DEARBORN. 


JOSEPH  NAPER,  Captain,  afterward  member  of  legislature. 
ALANSON  SWEET,  First-Lieutenant,  now  living  at  Evanston,  111. 
SHERMAN  KING,  Second-Lieutenant,  lived  at  Brush  Hill,  111. 
S.  M.  SALISBURY,  First-Sergeant,  afterward  Cook  Co.  Commis- 
sioner, at  Wheeling,  111. 
JOHN  MANNING,  Second-Sergeant. 
WALTER  STOWELL,  Third-Sergeant,  afterward  Post -Master,  at 

Newark,  111. 
JOHN  NAPER,  Fourth-Sergeant,  lived  at  Naperville,  brother  to 

Joseph. 

T.  E.  PARSONS,  First-Corporal. 
LYMAN  BUTTERFIELD,  Second-Corporal. 

I.  P.  BLODGETT,  Third-Corporal,  father  of  Judge  H.  W.  Blodgett. 
ROBERT  NELSON  MURRAY  (Naperville),  Fourth-Corporal,  now 

County  judge. 
Privates: 

P.  F.  W.  PECK,  died  at  Chicago,  URIAH  PAINE, 


WILLIAM  BARBER, 
RICHARD  M.  SWEET, 
JOHN  STEVENS,  Jr., 
CALVIN  M.  STOWELL, 
JOHN  Fox, 
DENIS  CLARK, 
CALEB  FOSTER, 
AUGUSTINE  STOWELL, 
GEORGE  Fox, 
T.  PARSONS, 
~  7  DANIEL  LANGDON, 
WILLIAM  GAULT, 


JOHN  STEVENS, 

SETH  WESTCOTT, 

HENRY  T.  WILSON  (Wheaton), 

CHRISTOPHER  PAINE, 

BASLEY  HOBSON, 

JOSIAH    H.    GlDDINGS, 

ANSON  AMENT, 
CALVIN  AMENT, 
EDMUND  HARRISON, 
WILLIARD  SCOTT  (Naperville), 
PEREZ  HAWLEY, 
PETER  WICOFFE. 


I. 

MARK  BEAUBIEN. 

Private  telegrams  received  here  yesterday,  from  Kankakee, 
announced  that  Mark  Beaubien  was  in  a  dying  condition,  the 
result  of  enlargement  of  the  liver.  Mr.  Beaubien  was  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  "old  settlers"  of  Chicago.  He  was  first 
brought  into  recent  prominent  notice  in  the  newspaper  reports  of 
the  first  of  the  old  settlers'  receptions,  which  are  now  an  annual 
institution  of  the  Calumet  Club.  At  that  reception,  he  was  pre- 
sent, with  the  identical  fiddle  with  which  he  was  wont,  nearly  fifty 
years  before,  to  supply  the  essential  harmony  for  the  social  events 
of  the  Chicago  of  that  day.  He  was  the  lion  of  the  evening,  and 
before  the  reception  closed,  his  old  associates  of  half  a  century 


APPENDIX — MARK   BEAUBIEN.  67 

previous,  danced  the  same  old  dances  to  the  same  old  tunes  which 
had  enlivened  the  evenings  of  their  youth. 

Nearly  every  speech  that  evening  contained  an  allusion  to  the 
old  gentleman.  Gen.  Henry  Strong  characterized  him  as  "the 
Apollo  of  the  early  settlers";  ex-Chief-Justice  John  Dean  Caton 
told  facetiously  the  story  of  how  old  Mark  won  a  horse-race  from 
Robert  A.  Kinzie,  and  of  how,  to  use  his  (Mark's)  own  expres- 
sion, he  kept  tavern  "like  hell";  the  Hon.  John  Wentworth 
called  to  memory  several  of  the  festive  occasions  upon  which 
the  veteran  settler  had  employed  his  musical  power  to  good 
effect;  and  ex-Lieut.-Gov.  Bross  reminded  his  hearers  of  the  way 
in  which  the  ancient  tavern-keeper  divided  his  time  between 
"keeping  tavern  vigorously,"  working  the  ferry  at  Wolf  Point, 
and  running  pony-races  with  his  Indian  neighbors. 

Mr.  Beaubien  was  also  present  at  the  second  reception  given 
by  the  Calumet  Club  last  year,  at  which  he  received  hardly  less 
attention  than  on  the  previous  occasion.  The  Hon.  John  Went- 
worth, telling  a  Tribune  reporter  yesterday  his  recollections  of  the 
deceased,  said: 

"When  I  came  to  Chicago,  in  1836,  Mr.  Beaubien  was  a 
prominent  citizen  here,  as  well  known  among  all  classes  as 
probably  any  man  in  the  City.  He  was  considered  an  indispen- 
sable requisite  upon  all  social  occasions,  on  account  of  his  ability 
as  a  fiddler.  In  case  of  a  party,  if  for  any  reasons  the  regular 
musicians  were  absent,  we  could  always  send  for  "old  Mark," 
who  was  always  ready  with  his  fiddle.  If,  where  he  was  playing, 
one  of  his  strings  broke,  he  could  play  on  the  remaining  three; 
if  two  broke,  the  other  two  would  do,  and  if  they  all  gave  way, 
he  could  hum  any  dancing  tune  that  we  needed  in  those  days. 
He  was  celebrated  for  his  good  nature.  I  never  knew  him  to 
speak  unkindly  of  anyone,  or  anyone  to  speak  unkindly  of  him, 

"I  have  been  more  or  less  intimate  with  him  from  the  time  of 
my  arrival  in  Chicago  to  the  present,  and  he  seldom  visited  the 
City  without  calling  upon  me.  His  last  prominent  appearances 
were  at  the  receptions  given  by  the  Calumet  Club  to  old  settlers,, 
in  1879  and  1880,  where  it  was  observed  by  all  present  that  he, 
had,  mentally,  all  the  vivacity  of  youth,  and  played  the  fiddle  as 
well  as  ever.  Another  time  that  he  distinguished  himself  was 
when,  in  1876,  he  introduced  me  to  an  audience  and  created  a 
great  deal  of  amusement  by  his  broken  French  and  English. 

"He  claimed  to  have  been  born  in  1800,  but  many  persons' 
thought  that  he  was  much  older.  He  was  present,  in  1812,  when 
Detroit  was  surrendered  by  Gen.  Hull,  and  was  very  fond  of 
singing  songs  in  derision  of  Hull,  which  were  sung  in  those  days. 

5 


68  FORT   DEARBORN. 

He  and  his  father  before  him  were  born  in  Detroit,  but  his  grand- 
father was  an  emigrant  from  France.  He  came  here  in  1826,  and 
voted  in  the  Chicago  precinct,  in  the  County  of  Peoria,  in  1830.* 
The  last  time  I  looked  over  the  poll-list  of  1830,  there  were  but 
two  voters  of  that  year  besides  himself  living.  These  were 
David  McKee,  of  Aurora,  and  Medore  B.  Beaubien,  of  Silver 
Lake,  Kas.,  a  nephew  of  the  deceased. 

"When  he  came  to  Chicago,  he  built  a  log-house  at  the  forking 
of  the  river,  on  what  is  known  as  the  old  wigwam  lot,  on  the 
corner  of  Lake  and  Market  Streets.  It  was,  at  the  time,  the  only 
dwelling-house  on  the  South  Side,  except  that  of  his  brother,  Col. 
John  B.  Beaubien.  When  he  was  building  the  house  the  Indian 
Chief  Sauganash  told  him  he  supposed  he  would  name  his  hotel 
after  some  big  man,  as  that  was  the  way  the  Americans  did. 
'Yes,'  said  Beaubien,  'I  will  name  it  after  a  big  man.  It  shall  be 
the  Sauganash  Hotel,'"  and  so  it  was.  A  few  years  afterward  he 
built  a  frame  addition  to  it,  and  in  it  I  took,  in  1836,  my  first 
meal  in  Chicago.  He  established  the  first  ferry  at  the  forks  of 
the  river,  not  far  from  the  present  Lake-Street  bridge,  at  which 
time  there  were  no  bridges  across  the  river. 

"  Mark  had  twenty-three  children ;  he  counted  them  over  to 
me  as  I  took  down  their  names.     He  had  fifty-three  living  grand- 
children  at  the  time,  but  he  said  that  a  great  many  of  them  had    / 
died;  and  a  large  number  of  great-grandchildren,  whom  he  said  V  ^ 
he  could  not  count  over,  as  they  came  on  so  fast.     Of  late  years  j   . 
he  has  lived  around  among  his  relatives  in  the  country,  occasion-  JrO 
ally  visiting  Chicago.         fy^/^6  //T^L  "/JifW'  kv^fouAj^  « 

"He  never  held  any  office.and  never  was  a  candidate  for  one. 
When  Chicago  was  incorporated  as  a  town,  August  10,  1833,  the 
first  election  of  Trustees  was  held  at  his  house.  His  memory 
was  very  good  until  within  about  ten  years,  and  his  forgetfulness 
of  late  has  been  a  great  source  of  mortification  to  him,  as  he  took 
great  delight  in  telling  stories  of  olden  times. 

"He  never  had  but  one  fiddle  that  I  know  of,  and  he  promised, 
when  he  died,  to  bequeath  it  to  the  Calumet  Club,  or  to  some  of 
the  other  public  institutions  of  this  City.  I  think  the  Calumet 
Club  will  get  it,  as  he  was  ever  welcome  there." 

"Mark  Beaubien  died  on  the  nth  of  April,  1881,  at  the  house 
of  Geo.  Matthews,  Kankakee,  111.,  who  married  his  daughter, 
Mary.  He  married  for  second  and  last  wife,  Elizabeth  Matthews, 
of  Aurora,  and  had  seven  children  by  her;  his  first  wife  had 
sixteen  children. — See  Tribune,  Mar.  25,  1881. 

*  See  No.  7,  Fergus'  Historical  Series,  Early  Chicago,  by  Hon.  John  Wentworth,  p.  54. 


J. 

GRADUATES  OF  THE  MILITARY  ACADEMY,  CLASS  OF  1832,  WITH  REGI- 
MENT TO  WHICH  ASSIGNED,    FROM  JULY  I,    1832. 

REGIMENT.  REMARKS. 

2d  Artillery,  Died,  October  13,  1851,  at  Centreville,  Cal. 

ad  Artillery,  Resigned,  December  31,  1836. 

4th  Artillery,  Resigned,  September  30,  1836. 

7th  Infantry,  Resigned,  October  26,  1836. 

ist  Artillery,  Died,  February  26,  1857,  at  West  Point,  N.Y- 

2d  Artillery,  Resigned,  April  i,  1834. 

ist  Artillery,  Died,  December  i,  1835,  at  Washington,  D.C. 

2d  Artillery,  Resigned,  October  31,  1835. 

ist  Artillery,  Resigned,  October  31.  1838. 

3d  Artillery,  Resigned,  May  6,  1864. 

4th  Artillery,  Died,  July  15,  1832,  at  Fort  Dearborn,  III. 

7th  Infantry,  Resigned  October  31,  1833. 

3d  Artillery,  Died,  August  13,  1847,  at  Puebla,  Mexico. 

*K  A  »'ii          Still  in  service  as  Col.  Corps  of  Engin'rs,  sta- 
4th  Artillery,  tioned  at  NQ    ija5  Q  rard  gt>>  phUa ^  p^ 

4th  Artillery,  Drowned,  May  16,  1849,  in  Rio  Grande  River. 
2d  Artillery,  Resigned,  August  31,  1833. 
zd  Artillery,  Resigned,  July  31,  1836. 
A   A-f-n          Now  Col.  U.S.A.,  retired,  residing  at  No.  » 

lery>  Monroe  Place,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
4th  Artillery,  Resigned,  July  28,  1836. 


NO.  NAME. 

1  *George  W.  Ward,    ..     . 

2  Robert  P.  Smith,   ..     .. 

3  Benjamin  S.  Ewell,   .. 

4  George  W.  Cass 

5  Jacob  W.  Bailey 

6  Philip  St.  George  Cocke, 

7  *Henry  G   Sill, 

8  *  Joseph  C.  Vance,  .. 

9  *George  Watson,  .     . .     . 
10  Erasmus  D.  Keyes, 

n  *Frankl  n  McDuflee,  .     . 

12  *Lewis  Howell,       ..     .. 

13  *William  Wall, 

14  *John  M.  Mi  comb, 

15  *Edward  Deas,   ..     ..     . 

16  John  E.  Brackett,  ..     .. 

17  *Ward  B.  Burnett,     ..     . 

18  James  H.  Simpson, 

19  Alfred  Brush,      

20  *  Richard  G.  Fain,   .     .. 


ist  Artillery,  Resigned,  December  31,  1833. 

21  *Henderson  K.  Yoakum,  -     3d  Artillery,   Resigned,  March  31,  1833. 

22  *Tench  Tilghman,  ..     ..         4th  Artillery,  Resigned,  November  30,  1833. 

23  William  H.  Pettes,     ..     ..     ist  Artillery,  Resigned,  September  n,  1836. 

24  Theophilus  F.  J.  Wilkinson,  2d  Artillery,   Resigned,  February  28,  1835. 

?c  *I  nrrnm  Sito-rca  <=t  Aru'llo™    Now  Lieut. -Col.  U.S.A.,  retired,  residing  at 

lery>  No.  1226  K  Street,  N.-W.,  Washington,  D.C. 

26  *George  B.  Crittenden,  .         4th  Infantry,  Resigned,  April  30,  1833. 
2d  Infantry,  Resigned,  July  31,  1836. 

*v.'T'*,   .  '    Now  Lieut.-Col.  U.S.A.,  retired,  residing  at 
7th  Infantry,  N(}  ^  Rjggs  ^  N..W.,  Washington,  D.C. 


27\Jacab  Brown,.  _. 
ahiet  P?  Wh^ngir 


29  *Randolph  B.  Marcy, 

30  'James  P.  Hardin,  .     .. 

31  Thomas  M.  Hill, 

32  *Roger  S.  D'x,       ..     .. 

33  Robert  H.  Archer,    .. 

34  *James  V.  Bomford, 

35  *Richard  C.  Gatlin,  .. 

36  William  H.  Storer,  .     .. 

37  *George  H.  Griffin,   .. 

38  John  Beach,    ..     ..     .. 

39  *William  O.  Kello,    .. 

40  *Henry  Swartwout, 

41  *Gaines  P.  Kingsbury, 
+«  *  Humphrey  Marshall,  ._ 

43  *  James  M.  Bowman,  . 

44  *Ashburn  Ury,        ..     .. 

45  *Albert  G.  Edwards,  . 


rt,   ,„ /•  „.,.„   Now  Brig. -Gen.  U.S.A.,  retired,  residing  at 

ntry>  Orange,  New  Jersey. 
4th  Infantry,  Resigned,  December  15,  1832. 
ist  Infantry,  Died,  July  10,  1838,  at  Bath,  Maine. 
7th  Infantry,  Died,  January  7,  1849,  at  Hillsborough,  Pa. 
3d  Infantry,  Resigned,  December  31,  18-57. 

,   r   c     .        Now  Col.  U.S.A.,  retired,  residing  at  No.  116 
2d  Infantry,  Wes(.  Jersey  gtreetj  Elizabeth)  NJ. 


7th  Infantry,  Resigned,  May  20,  1861. 

ist  Infantry,  Resigned,  November  15,  1839. 

6th  Infantry,  Died,  October  8,  1839,  at  Tampa,. Florida. 

ist  Infantry,   Resigned,  June  30,  1838. 

3d  Infantry,  Died,  Jan.  27,  1848,  in  Southampton  Co.,  Va. 

3d  Infantry,  Died,  July  i,  1852,  at  Fort  Meade,  Florida. 

Mt'd  Rang's,  Resigned,  October  13,  1836. 

Mt'd  Rang's,  Resigned,  April  30,  1833. 

Mt'd  Rang's,  Died,  July  21,  1839,  at  Ft.  Wayne,  Indian  Ter. 

Mt'd  Rang's,  Died,  April  14,  1838,  at  Matanzas,  Cuba. 

Mt'd  Rang's,  Resigned,  May  2,  1835. 
Those  to  whose  name  this  mark  *  is  prefixed,  participated  in  some  manner  in  the  Black- 
Hawk  expedition  of  1832.  (Signed)        RICHARD  C.  DRUM. 
Adjutant-General's  Office,  Washington,  May  6,  1881.  Adjutant-General. 


70  FORT   DEARBORN. 

K. 

LETTERS  FROM  THE  LAST  SOLDIER  IN  FORT  DEARBORN. 
SOUTH  EVANSTON,  COOK  Co.,  ILL.,  June  17,  1881. 

HON.  JOHN  WENTWORTH. — DMT  Sir:  I  enlisted  October,  1819,  at 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  the  5th  Regt.  U.S.  Infantry,  being  then  23  years  of  age. 
I  started  with  a  detachment  of  recruits  May,  1820,  to  join  the  regiment,  then 
stationed  about  seven  miles  below  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  near  where  Fort 
Snelling  now  stands.  The  regiment  was  then  commanded  by  Lieut.-Col. 
Henry  Leavenworth,  father  of  Lieut.  Jesse  H.  Leavenworth.  We  joined  the 
regiment  about  the  last  of  July,  and  work  was  begun  on  the  Fort  the  same 
fall.  We  remained  at  Fort  Snelling  till  May,  1828,  when  we  were  ordered  to 
Jefferson  Barracks,  St.  Louis.  I  remained  there  till  September  of  the  same 
year,  when  we  were  ordered  to  Fort  Brady,  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior. 
Here  we  remained  till  May,  1833,  when  we  were  ordered  to  Fort  Dearborn, 
Chicago.  Soon  after  our  arrival  at  the  Fort,  I  received  from  Washington  my 
appointment  as  ordnance -sergeant  of  the  post,  and  thenceforward  I  had 
nothing  more  to  do  with  garrison  duty.  Previous  to  my  appointment  as 
ordnance -sergeant,  I  was  orderly -sergeant  of  B  company.  Capt.  (Brevet- 
Major)  DeLafayette  Wilcox,  was  captain  of  B  company  from  the  time  we 
left  Jefferson  Barracks  till  he  left  Chicago;  but,  being  away  on  a  leave  of 
absence,  when  A  and  B  companies  were  ordered  to  Fort  Dearborn,  Lieut. 
Louis  T.  Jamison  had  temporary  command  of  the  company  B  to  which  I 
belonged.  When  the  two  companies  left  Fort  Dearborn  for  Fort  Howard. 
Major  Joseph  Plympton  and  myself  were  left  behind.  He  was  in  charge  of 
the  Government  property,  and  I  as  ordnance-sergeant  of  the  post,  to  await  a 
vacancy  at  some  other  post.  I  remained  at  Fort  Dearborn  till  the  latter  end 
of  May  when,  my  term  of  enlistment  having  expired,  I  quit  the  army  and 
went  to  farming  in  the  town  of  Northfield,  in  Cook  County.  The  late 
Edward  H.  Hadduck,  who  died  30  May,  1881,  with  his  team,  hauled  my 
traps  from  the  City  to  my  claim. 

Capt.  John  B.  F.  Russell  did  not  come  to  Chicago  with  the  company,  nor 
did  he  wer  do  garrison  duty  in  Fort  Dearborn.  When  he  came  to  Chicago 
he  was  on  detached  service  in  the  Indian  Department,  and  superintended  the 
removal  of  the  Indians  to  their  reservation  out  West.  The  first  I  knew  of 
Bernard  Ward*  was,  I  think,  in  1823,  when  he  joined  the  regiment  at  Fort 
Snelling  with  a  detachment  of  recruits,  I  think,  from  Boston.  There  he  was 
discharged  from  the  army  by  reason  of  his  term  of  enlistment  having  expired. 
Whereupon  he  went  East  and  enlisted  in  the  4th  Artillery;  but  not  liking 
that  arm  of  the  service  he  got  transferred  to  his  old  regiment,  and  rejoined  us 
at  Fort  Brady,  I  think,  in  1830.  He  accompanied  the  troops  to  Fort  Dear- 
born, and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlist- 
ment. None  of  my  childrent  were  born  in  Fort  Dearborn,  although  two 

*  Bernard  or  "Barney"  Ward  will  be  remembered  as  the  first  alderman  ever  elected  from 
the  old  fifth  ward,  embracing  all  the  territory  on  the  North  Side,  between  Clark  Street 
and  the  River.  There  were  then  but  six  wards  in  the  City,  two  on  each  side  of  the  River; 
but  the  third  (represented  by  John  Dean  Caton)  and  the  fifth  (by  Bernard  Ward)  had  but 
one  each.  Mr.  Ward  lived  upon  an  island,  since  cut  away,  near  the  forks  of  the  River, 
approachable  from  the  North  Side  by  a  foot-bridge.  Mr.  Ward  has  been  dead  about  forty 
years,  leaving  a  son,  now  living,  Henry  A.  Ward,  born  on  the  island,  28  March,  1834,  and  a 
daughter,  who  married  Ralph,  a  deceased  son  of  this  Sergeant  Joseph  Adams,  of  South 
Evanston,  111. 

t  Mr.  Adams  has  two  children  now  living,  viz. :  Henry  Adams,  now  living  at  South 
Evanston,  Cook  County,  111.,  and  the  wife  of  Dr.  Allen  W.  Gray,  (son  of  ex-Sheriff  John 
Gray),  of  Chicago.  He  had  a  son,  Ralph  Adams,  now  dead,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
ex-alderman  Bernard  Ward. 


APPENDIX — LETTER   FROM   JOSEPH   ADAMS.  71 

were  born  in  Chicago  while  I  was  stationed  there  as  a  soldier.  My  family 
did  not  live  in  the  Fort  till  after  the  troops  left,  when  we  moved  in  for  the 
winter.  In  looking  over  your  Fort  Dearborn  address,  you  mention  of  having 
lost  track  of  Lieut.  J.  L.  Thompson.  He  was  with  the  Army  of  Observa- 
tion, on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  he  resigned  just  before  hostilities  broke  out  in 
the  Mexican  war;  for  which  his  father-in-law,  Gen.  Hugh  Brady,  was  much 
displeased.  Soon  after  his  resignation,  I  read  in  a  newspaper,  (your  Chicago 
Democrat,  perhaps?),  an  account  of  his  death  by  drowning  in  the  St.  Clair 
River,  near  Detroit,  Mich. 

The  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter  came  to  Chicago  on  the  same  boat  that  I  did, 
and  I  attended  the  first  services  he  held  in  Chicago,  May,  1833. 

JOSEPH  ADAMS. 

SOUTH  EVANSTON,  COOK  Co.,  ILL.,  June  16,  1881. 

HON.  JOHN  WENTWORTH, — Dear  Sir:  I  am  positive  that  the  troops  left 
Chicago  late  in  December,  1836,  but  the  exact  date  I  do  not  know,  but  I  do 
know  that  it  was  close  upon  the  New  Year  of  1837.  As  to  what  the  printed 
Army  Returns  show,  I  presume  they  allude  to  the  public  property,  ordnance 
and  quartermaster  stores  being  removed  to  headquarters  of  the  regiment.  I 
do  not  recollect  when  Major  Joseph  Plympton  left,  but  think  he  would  have 
left  when  the  public  property  was  withdrawn.  Capt.  Louis  T.  Jamison 
remained  in  the  garrison  till  late  in  the  fall  of  1837,  being  detailed  on  recruit- 
ing-service. I  do  not  know  how  much  longer  he  remained;  but  I  saw  him  on 
some  business  late  in  the  fall.  I  should  think  you  would  remember  the  fuss 
that  occurred  between  Capt.  Jamison  and  his  recruits  on  one  side,  and  Col. 
Beaubien  and  a  number  of  citizens,  favorable  to  him,  on  the  side.  The  latter 
hauled  some  lumber  upon  the  "  Reservation, "  and  Capt.  James  Allen  brought 
his  men  from  the  harbor-works  and  conquered  the  aggressive  party.  [See 
Scammon's  Illinois  Reports,  vol.  iii. ,  Louis  T.  Jamison  v.  John  Doe  ex  dem. 
John  B.  Beaubien.  Also  De  Lafayette  Wilcox  v.  James  Kinzie.] 

I  was  born  in  the  county  of  Stafford  or  Staffordshire,  England,  December 
24th,  1794.  I  know  I  came  to  Chicago  in  May,  1833.  I  heard  Rev. 
Jeremiah  Porter  preach  frequently  in  an  old  log-building  which  I  can  not 
locate;  but  I  know  that  it  was  .somewhere  near  the  junction  of  the  two 
branches  of  the  River.  I  think  he  preached  his  first  sermon  there;  but  I  am 
not  positive.  Father  Jesse  Walker  [Methodist]  preached  in  the  same  building. 
There  was  a  room  fitted  up  for  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter  in  the  garrison,  after  we 
had  been  there  sometime.  Thinking  of  Major  Joseph  Plympton  and  family 
reminds  me  that  just  sixty  years  ago  this  coming  "  Fourth  of  July, "  he  was 
then  a  lieutenant,  and  in  command  of  the  company  to  which  I  belonged. 
He  was  detailed  to  take  charge  of  the  party  to  fire  the  first  Fourth-of- July 
salute  that  was  ever  fired  at  Fort  Snelling.  I  was  the  non-commissioned 
officer  of  the  party.  That  was  in  1821;  there  were  then  barracks  built  for 
two  or  three  companies.  Major  Plympton  was  not  married  at  that  time.  He 
left  Fort  Snelling  about  1822,  and  returned  (a  short  time  before  we  left  for 
Jefferson  Barracks)  with  a  wife  and  perhaps  one  child.  I  know  there  was  one 
there.  After  we  left  the  Fort,  I  never  saw  him  again  till  he  came  to  Chicago 
to  take  command  of  Fort  Dearborn. 

There  had  been  salutes  fired  near  Fort  Snelling,  but  not  on  the  site  of  the 
Fort  itself.  I  remember  one  given  for  Gov.  Cass,  in  1820,  on  his  return  from 
a  north-west  tour  among  the  Indians. 

JOSEPH  ADAMS. 


72  FORT   DEARBORN. 

L. 

From  the  Chicago  Democrat,  March  23d,  1861. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTER  OF  CAPT.  A.  WALKER. — CHICAGO  IN  1832. — 
ARRIVAL  OF  FIRST  STEAMBOAT. — THE  CHOLERA  AND  ITS  FATALITY 
AMONG  THE  U.S.  TROOPS  AND  SAILORS. — GEN.  SCOTT'S  ARRIVAL. — 
EARLY  STEAMBOAT  ITEMS. 

BUFFALO,  October  3oth,  1860. 
CAPT.  R.  C.  BRISTOL, 

Dear  Sir:  On  my  arrival  home  from  New  York,  a  few  days  since,  from 
our  annual  meeting,  I  found  your  favor  of  the  3d  inst. ,  in  which  you  speak  of 
my  former  communication. 

And  now,  in  compliance  with  your  request,  I  will  enter  more  fully  into 
detail,  as  you  inform  me  many  of  the  leading  points  and  incidents  connected 
with  that  pioneer  voyage,  will  form  a  part  of  the  recorded  history  of  Chicago, 
as  kept  by  the  Historical  Society.  *  *  *  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  at 
that  time  but  few  traces  of  civilization  could  be  seem,  after  passing  the  Straits 
of  Mackinaw;  nothing  like  light-houses,  or  beacon-lights,  artificial  harbors,  or 
but  few  natural  ones,  were  in  existence;  no  piers,  wood  or  coal  yards  were 
established;  and  not  a  single  village,  town  or  city  on  the  whole  distance, 
where  now  all  are  conspicuous  along  the  western  shores  of  Lake  Michigan, 
showing  a  strange  contrast  indeed. 

It  will  also  be  remembered,  as  stated  in  my  former  communication,  that 
four  steamers,  the  Henry  Clay,  Superior,  Slieldon  Thompson,  and  William 
Penn,  were  chartered  by  the  United  States  Government  for  the  purpose  of 
transporting  troops,  equipments,  and  provisions  to  Chicago,  during  the  Black- 
Hawk  war,  but,  owing  to  the  fearful  ravages,  made  by  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Asiatic  cholera  among  the  troops  and  crews  on  board,  two  of  those  boats 
were  compelled  to  abandon  their  voyage,  proceeding  no  further  than  Fort 
Gratiot.  The  disease  became  so  violent  and  alarming  on  board  the  Henry 
Clay  that  nothing  like  discipline  could  be  observed,  everything  in  the  way  of 
subordination  ceased.  As  soon  as  the  steamer  came  to  the  dock,  each  man 
sprang  on  shore,  hoping  to  escape  from  a  scene  so  terrifying  and  appalling. 
Some  fled  to  the  fields,  some  to  the  woods,  while  others  lay  down  in  the 
streets,  and  under  the  cover  of  the  river  bank,  where  most  of  them  died 
unwept  and  alone. 

There  were  no  cases  of  cholera  causing  death  on  board  my  boat  until  we 
passed  the  Manitou  Islands,  (Lake  Michigan).  The  first  person  attacked 
died  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  some  thirty  hours  before  reaching 
Chicago.  As  soon  as  it  was  ascertained,  by  the  surgeon,  that  life  was  ex- 
tinct, the  deceased  was  wrapped  closely  in  his  blanket,  placing  within  some 
weights  secured  by  lashing  of  small  cordage  around  the  ankles,  knees,  waist, 
and  neck,  and  then  committed,  with  but  little  ceremony,  to  the  deep. 

This  unpleasant  though  imperative  duty  was  performed  by  the  Orderly  Ser- 
geant, with  a  few  privates  detailed  for  that  purpose.  In  like  manner  twelve 
others,  including  this  same  noble  sergeant,  who  sickened  and  died  in  a  few 
hours,  were  also  thrown  overboard  before  the  balance  of  the  troops  were 
landed  at  Chicago. 

The  sudden  and  untimely  death  of  this  veteran  sergeant  and  his  committal 
to  a  watery  grave,  caused  a  deep  sensation  on  board  among  the  soldiers  and 
crews,  which  I  will  not  here  attempt  to  describe.  The  effect  produced  upon 
Gen.  Scott  and  the  other  officers,  in  witnessing  the  scene,  was  too  visible  to 
be  misunderstood,  for  the  dead  soldier  had  been  a  very  valuable  man,  and 
evidently  a  favorite  among  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  regiment.  *  * 
Some  very  interesting  and  appropriate  memoranda  were  made  by  the  steward 


APPENDIX — LETTER   OF   CAPT.  WALKER.  73 

of  the  boat  at  the  time,  on  one  of  the  leaves  of  his  account-book  (which  is 
still  in  my  possession)  by  quotations  from  one  of  the  poets,  such  as,  "  Sleep, 
soldier,  sleep;  thy  warfare's  o'er,"  etc.  *  *  * 

On  another  leaf  is  a  graphic  representation  of  a  coffin,  made  by  pen  and 
ink,  placed  opposite  the  account  on  the  credit  side  of  one  of  the  volunteer 
officers,  who  died  after  reaching  Chicago,  with  this  singular  and  concise  device 
or  inscription  written  upon  the  lid  of  the  coffin : 

"Account  settled  by  Death. 

(Signed)         H.  Bradley,  clerk  and  steward, 

Steamer  Sheldon  Thompson. 

Chicago,  111.,  July  nth,  1832." 

There  was  one  singular  fact — not  one  of  the  officers  of  the  army  was 
attacked  by  the  disease,  while  on  board  my  boat,  with  such  violence  as  to 
result  in  death,  or  any  of  the  officers  belonging  to  the  boat,  though  nearly 
one-fourth  of  the  crew  fell  a  prey  to  the  disease  on  a  subsequent  trip,  while 
on  the  passage  from  Detroit  to  Buffalo. 

We  arrived  at  Chicago  (as  stated  in  the  former  communication)  on  the 
evening  of  the  loth  of  July,  1832.  I  sent  the  yawl-boat  on  shore  soon  after 
with  Gen.  Scott  and  a  number  of  the  volunteer  officers,  who  accompanied 
him  on  his  expedition  against  the  hostile  tribes,  who,  with  Black  Hawk,  had 
committed  many  depredations,  (though,  perhaps,  not  without  some  provoca- 
tion), compelling  the  whites  to  abandon  their  homes  in  the  country  and  flee  to 
Chicago,  taking  refuge  in  the  Fort  for  the  time  being.  Before  landing  the 
troops  next  morning,  we  were  under  the  painful  necessity  of  committing  three 
more  to  the  deep,  who  died  during  the  night,  making,  in  all,  sixteen  who 
were  thus  consigned  to  a  watery  grave.  These  three  were  anchored  to  the 
bottom  in  two  and  a-half  fathoms,  the  water  being  so  clear  that  their  forms 
could  be  plainly  seen  from  our  decks.  This  unwelcome  sight  created  such 
excitement,  working  upon  the  superstitious  fears  of  some  of  the  crew,  that 
prudence  dictated  that  we  weigh  anchor  and  move  a  distance,  sufficient  to 
shut  from  sight  a  scene  which  seemed  to  haunt  the  imagination,  and  influence 
the  mind  with  thoughts  of  some  portentious  evil. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  and  night  following,  eighteen  others  died  and 
were  interred  not  far  from  the  spot  where  the  American  Temperance  House* 

*  N.-W.  corner  Lake  Street  and  Wabash  Avenue. 

has  since  been  erected.  The  earth  that  was  removed  to  cover  one  made  a 
grave  to  receive  the  next  that  died.  All  were  buried  without  coffins  or 
shrouds,  except  their  blankets,  which  served  for  a  winding-sheet,  there  left, 
as  it  were,  without  remembrance  or  a  stone  to  mark  their  resting-place.  Dur- 
ing the  four  days  we  remained  at  Chicago,  fifty-four  more  died,  making  an 
aggregate  of  eighty-eight  who  paid  the  debt  of  nature.  * 

On  approaching  Chicago,  I  found  quite  a  fleet  of  sail  vessels,  at  anchor  in 
the  offing,  where  we  also  came  to,  near  them.  As  soon  as  it  was  ascertained 
that  cholera  was  on  board,  no  time  was  lost  in  communicating  from  one 
vessel  to  the  other  the  intelligence,  which  induced  them  to  weigh  anchor  at 
once,  and  stand  out  to  sea,  hoping  to  escape  the  pestilence,  which,  at  that 
time,  was  considered  contagious.  In  the  morning  some  of  them  were  nearly 
lost  in  the  distance,  though  in  the  course  of  the  day  they  mostly  returned  and 
reanchored  near  by,  in  hailing  distance.  Among  the  fleet  were  some  vessels 
belonging  to  Oliver  Newberry,  Esq.,  of  Detroit,  that  were  employed  in 
transporting  provisions  and  stores  from  the  Government  to  that  port. 

The  number  of  buildings  at  that  time,  where  your  populous  City  now 
stands,  was  but  five,  three  of  which  were  log-tenements;  one  of  them  with- 
out a  roof,  was  used  as  a  stable,  and  one  small  frame  dwelling-house,  besides 
the  light-house  and  barracks  (better  known  as  Fort  Dearborn)  which  was 


74  FORT   DEARBORN. 

evacuated  for  the  accommodation  of  the  sick  troops.  Major  Whistler,  Capt. 
Johnson,  and  many  others,  with  their  families,  who  had  previously  occupied 
the  barracks,  took  shelter  wherever  they  could,  some  under  boards  placed 
obliquely  across  the  fence,  others  in  tents,  etc. 

It  is  proper  in  this  connection  to  state  that  all  the  mattresess  and  bedding 
belonging  to  my  boat,  except  sufficient  for  the  crew,  were  taken  by  order  of 
Gen.  Scott  for  the  use  of  the  sick,  giving  his  draft  for  the  purchase  of  new 
bedding,  which  was  not  only  a  deed  of  mercy  to  those  suffering  ones,  but  a 
matter  of  favor  to  me,  in  procuring  a  fresh  out-fit,  so  necessary  after  that 
disastrous  voyage.  There  was  no  harbor  accessible  to  any  craft  drawing  more 
than  two  feet  of  water,  hardly  sufficient  to  admit  the  bateau  in  which  the 
troops  were  landed.  But  little  else  was  seen  besides  the  broad  expanse  of 
prairie,  with  its  gentle  undulated  surface,  covered  with  grass  and  variegated 
flowers,  stretching  out  far  in  the  distance,  resembling  a  great  carpet  inter- 
woven with  green,  purple,  and  gold;  in  one  direction  bounded  only  by  the 
blue  horizon,  with  no  intervening  woodland  to  obstruct  the  vision.  The  view 
in  looking  through  the  spy-glass  from  the  upper  deck  of  our  steamer,  while 
laying  in  the  offing,  was  a  most  picturesque  one,  presenting  a  landscape  inter- 
spersed with  small  groves  of  underwood,  making  the  picture  complete;  com- 
bining the  grand  and  beautiful  in  nature,  far  beyond  anything  I  had  before 
seen. 

The  Chicago  River,  at  that  time,  was  but  a  mere  creek,  easily  forded  at  its 
mouth,  while  it  wended  its  way  along  the  beach,  flowing  into  the  Lake  a 
small  distance  south  of  the  present  locality  of  Lake  Street. 

The  provisions  and  stores  brought  by  the  sail-vessels  were  landed  on  the 
beach  of  the  Lake,  near  the  mouth  of  the  River,  where  now  are  seen  the 
extensive  railroad  improvements.  *  *  * 

We  remained  four  days  after  landing  the  troops,  procuring  fuel  for  the 
homeward  voyage,  etc.  The  only  means  of  obtaining  anything  for  fuel  was 
to  purchase  the  roofless  log-building  used  as  a  stable.  That,  together  with  the 
rail  fence  enclosing  a  field  of  some  three  acres  near  by,  was  sufficient  to 
enable  us  to  reach  Mackinaw.  Being  drawn  to  the  beach  and  prepared  for 
use,  it  was  boated  on  board  by  the  crew,  which  operation  occupied  the  most 
of  four  days  to  accomplish. 

There  was  one  circumstance  connected  with  this  transaction,  which,  with 
other  things,  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  A  youngerly  man  by  the  name  of 
Burnham,  if  my  memory  serves,  rendered  a  special  service  in  aiding  me  in 
negotiating  for  the  fuel  and  assisting  in  getting  it  drawn  to  the  shore,  he  hav- 
ing the  only  team  that  could  be  procured.  He  had  come  in  from  the  country 
but  a  few  days  before,  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  wagon,  bringing  with  him 
a  family,  I  think  not  his  own,  who  had  fled  from  the  country  for  refuge. 
His  services,  so  timely  and  unabating,  and  the  kindly  disposition  he  mani- 
fested to  assist  in  every  way  in  his  power,  together  with  the  moderate  price 
charged  for  the  services,  under  the  circumstances,  went  far  to  strengthen  my 
faith  in  human  nature,  that  all  mankind  are  not  entirely  selfish,  that  there  are 
some  who  can  and  do  act  disinterestedly.  This,  I  verily  believe,  was  the 
case,  in  a  very  large  degree,  with  this  generous-hearted  young  man.  He,  too, 
fell  a  prey  to  the  cholera.  He  was  attacked  and  died  a  few  days  after  I 
sailed  from  your  Fort. 

After  getting  the  fuel  on  board,  I  was  detained  some  six  hours,  waiting  the 
arrival  of  a  gentleman  whose  name  I  think  was  Chamberlain.  I  had  dis- 
patched a  messenger  for  him,  he  residing  some  fifteen  miles  in  the  country. 
At  length  he  arrived,  and  engaged  to  accompany  me  as  far  as  Detroit  and 
act  in  the  capacity  of  physician,  having  some  knowledge  in  preparing  medi- 
cine, being  a  druggist  by  profession. 


APPENDIX — LETTER   OF   CAPT.  WALKER.  75 

During  this  protracted  stay,  in  waiting  for  the  doctor,  the  crew  became 
quite  uneasy  to  get  under  way,  and  leave  behind  them  a  scene  fraught  with 
associations  of  the  dead  and  the  dying,  which  they  had  witnessed  so 
frequently,  until  they  became  almost  mutinous.  But  as  soon  as  orders  were 
given  to  get  under  way,  the  celerity  with  which  the  yawl  was  hoisted  to  the 
stern,  was  a  scene  of  exciting  interest,  as  the  duty  was  performed  with  a  will 
and  a  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  accompanied  with  a  hearty  song  of  "  Yo-heave- 
ho.  "  As  they  hove  at  the  windlass,  they  seemed  almost  frantic  with  joy  when 
the  anchor  came  in  sight  and  her  prow  turned  homeward. 

We  had  no  cases  of  cholera  on  our  passage  to  Detroit.  The  physician 
returned  across  the  country,  after  receiving  the  stipulated  sum  for  his  services, 
which  I  think  was  some  two  hundred  dollars,  besides  the  stage-fare,  which 
was  one  of  the  items  in  the  stipulation. 

In  1832,  as  before  stated,  but  two  steamers  visited  Chicago,  the  Sheldon 
Thompson  being  the  first  ever  at  that  port.  The  William  Penn  arrived  some 
eight  days  later,  laden  with  troops,  stores,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  Government. 
From  the  year  1832,  different  steamers  made  occasional  trips  to  Chicago — the 
Daniel  Webster,  Monroe,  Columbus,  Anthony  Wayne,  Bunker  Hill,  and  others. 
The  most  noted  among  them  was  the  steamer  Michigan,  (the  first),  built  and 
owned  by  Oliver  Newberry,  Esq.,  late  of  Detroit,  who  for  many  years  was 
associated  with  and  largely  engaged  in  the  commerce  of  the  lakes.  This 
boat  made  one  or  more  annual  trips  of  pleasure,  generally  making  the  circuit 
of  Lake  Michigan.  She  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  steamer,  far  in  advance  of 
most  boats  of  her  time.  Though  her  model  was  by  no  means  comely,  her 
speed  was  quite  equal  to  others,  having  two  powerful  low-pressure  beam- 
engines,  and  withal  a  staunch  sea-boat.  Her  fine  finish,  splendid  fixtures,  and 
furniture,  which  were  quite  superior  to  any  other  in  that  day,  together  with 
her  veteran  commander,  Capt.  Blake,  on  board,  rendered  her  a  favorite  with 
the  traveling  public. 

A  few  years  later  a  large  class  of  steamers  commenced  making  regular  trips 
from  Buffalo  touching  most  of  the  intermediate  ports.  Among  the  number 
was  the  James  Madison,  owned  by  Charles  M.  Reed,  Esq.,  of  Erie,  built 
with  particular  reference  to  the  upper-lake  trade.  Her  capacity  for  freight 
and  passengers  was  the  largest  upon  the  Lake  at  that  time.  She  was  first 
commanded  by  Capt.  R.  C.  Bristol,  afterwards,  and  for  many  years,  by  Capt. 
McFadyen.  Still  later,  in  the  year  1837,  came  the  steamer  Illinois,  (the  first), 
owned  and  built  by  O.  Newberry,  Esq.  She  was  also  designed  for  the 
Chicago  trade.  In  this  boat  was  combined  many  qualities,  both  in  her  size, 
symmetry,  beauty  of  model,  style  of  finish,  speed,  and  seaworthiness,  which 
placed  her  in  the  foremost  rank  of  steamboats  and  enabled  her  for  many 
years  to  receive  a  most  liberal  patronage.  She  was  also  brought  out  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Blake. 

From  year  to  year  emigration  to  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  continued  to  in- 
crease, until  a  daily  line  of  boats  was  established  between  Buffalo  and 
Chicago,  while  at  the  same  time  the  public  demands  were  such  as  to  require  a 
still  further  advance,  and  a  different  class  and  style  of  boat  with  better  accom- 
modations and  increased  facilities,  suited  to  the  condition  and  circumstances 
of  a  large  class  of  the  more  refined  and  wealthy,  who  were  then  emigrating 
and  settling  throughout  your  and  the  adjoining  States.  •  And  hence  the 
necessity  of  introducing  the  upper-cabin  boat.  When  the  Great  Western  first 
made  her  appearance  upon  the  lakes,  and  during  the  two  years  in  which  she 
was  being  built,  many,  who  claimed  to  be  judges,  expressed  doubts,  of  the 
practicability  and  seaworthiness  of  that  class  of  boats.  But  in  a  few  trips 
she  became  a  favorite  with  the  public,  and,  notwithstanding  the  opinions  and 
prejudices  of  the  few,  was  the  means  of  bringing  about  an  entire  revolution 


76  FORT   DEARBORN. 

in  the  construction  of  our  steam  marine  upon  the  lakes,  causing  all  the  boats 
in  commission  and  contemporary  with  her,  to  convert  their  lower  cabins  in 
steerages  and  freight-holds,  and  substitute  the  upper-cabin.  *  *  *  It  is 
proper  here  to  say  that  the  Great  Western  was  built  expressly  for  the  upper-lake 
trade,  and  continued  to  make  regular  trips  for  ten  successive  years.  Of  the 
estimation  placed  upon  her  during  those  years,  it  is  not  my  province  here  to 
speak,  more  than  to  say  that  she  was  designed,  modeled  by,  and  under  my  com- 
mand during  that  period.  At  that  time  (1838)  the  principal  forwarding  houses 
in  the  City  were  Kinzie  &  Hunter,  Newberry  &  Dole,  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard, 
Esq.,  Bristol  &  Porter,  the  latter  of  whom  was  then  agents  and  consignees  for 
the  above-named  boats,  Mr.  Hubbard  being  the  agent  for  the  Great  Western. 
Subsequently  she  ran  to  the  dock  of  Messrs.  Walker,  Smith  and  others  as 
her  agents  and  consignees. 

The  population  of  Chicago,  if  I  remember  rightly,  did  not  exceed  four  or 
five  thousand  souls. 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

A.  WALKER. 

M. 
THE  OLD  RAILROADS  OF  ILLINOIS. 

OMAHA,  NEB.,  June  15,  1881. 

HON.  JOHN  WEXTWORTH, — Dear  Sir:  I  have  to  thank  you  for  the  receipt 
of  copies  of  your  lectures,  and  proceedings  of  the  Calumet  Club,  all  which 
bring  up  many  familiar  and  departed  names  and  faces. 

I  arrived  at  Chicago,  February  n,  1837,  and  one  of  the  first  forms  and 
faces,  was  your  own,  that  I  met.  And  I  soon  became  a  reader  of  your 
Chicago  Democrat,  and  a  visitor  at  your  sanctum.  I  boarded  with  Mark 
Beaubien,  at  his  "  Illinois  Exchange, "  and  my  room  was  on  the  opposite 
corner,  a  small,  yellow  building,  which  had  been  used  by  some  physician 
whose  name  has  escaped  me. 

I  went  to  Chicago,  under  the  promise  of  a  situation  under  Tames  Seymour, 
then  just  from  the  Erie  road,  who  had  been  selected  by  Col.  Edmund  D. 
Taylor  and  W.  B.  Ogden,  to  survey  and  locate  the  old  Galena  and  Chicago 
Union  Railroad,  now  grown  into  the  gigantic  North-  Western.  It  is  not  easy, 
after  the  lapse  of  forty-four  years,  and  the  absence  of  a  daily  journal,  to  recall 
with  much  exactness,  the  operations  and  incidents  of  that  period.  We  began 
our  survey  at  the  foot  of  Dearborn  Street,  and  ran  three  lines,  nearly  due 
west,  to  the  DesPlaines  River.  Much  of  the  time  we  waded  in  water,  waist 
deep,  and  were  glad,  at  night,  to  reach  the  hotel  at  Barry's  Point,  kept  by 
Jocelyn  &  Chamberlin,  and  dry  ourselves  by  the  large  fire-place. 

The  "hard  times,"  following  the  Land  Speculation,  made  short  work  of  the 
projected  railroad.  We  were  paid  off,  and,  June  1st,  left  for  Peru,  then  a 
promising  city  on  paper  and  prairie  bluffs,  to  enter  upon  the  surverys  north 
and  south  of  the  Illinois  River,  under  the  old  Illinois  Internal  Improvement 
system. 

I  can  scarcely  recall  the  names,  even  of  our  corps  of  engineers.  James 
Seymour,  was  chief;  his  brother,  Wm.  H.  Seymour,  was  assistant;  P.  H. 
Ogilvie,  draughtsman,  a  lively  little  Scot,  and  a  graduate  of  Edinboro';  H. 
V.  Mooris,  assistant-draughtsman;  Geo.  Howel,  rodman,  and  myself  axeman 
and  chainman.  It  was  my  lot  to  drive,  under  the  immediate  superintendence 
of  the  chief,  the  first  stake,  as  we  understood  at  the  time,  ever  driven  in  your 
City,  for  a  railroad  line.  The  high  grass,  where  the  fire  had  not  swept  over 
it,  required  four-foot  stakes,  which  we  backed  for  miles,  using  400  feet  stations. 
Of  all  our  company,  I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  other  survivor. 


APPENDIX — LETTER   FROM   FREDRICK   A.  NASH.      77 

We  boarded,  for  some  weeks,  with  a  most  pleasant  gentleman,  up  the 
north-branch,  in  a  new  bricl^^ouse.  I  believe  he  was  a  Virginian,  Archibald 
Clybourn  perhaps.  An  active  business  man,  named  James  A.  Marshal,  also 
boarded  there.  This  was  more  than  forty  years  ago.  I  left  Chicago,  Feb., 
1841,  and  seven  years  later  passed  through  it.  I  spent  the  winter  of  1837-38 
in  Chicago,  our  office  being  on  what  was  then  the  outskirts  of  the  City,  but 
now  quite  central,  at  the  residence  of  Hiram  P.  Woodworth,  who  was  our  new 
chief-engineer.  From  Peru,  or  LaSalle,  our  surveys  extended  up  the  Ver- 
million  to  Dixon  and  Galena,  from  the  south  side  of  the  River  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Bloomington,  running  sixty  miles  without  a  tree  or  any  stream  to 
check  our  progress.  We  also  surveyed  a  portion  of  the  Illinois  River,  and 
run  a  line  from  Meridosia  to  Quincy.  In  1840,  Ogilvie,  myself,  and  others 
listened  to  a  four-hour  speech  from  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  at  Dixon's  Ferry, 
and  to  a  shorter  and  spicy  address  from  "Long  John"  Wentworth,  then  in 
the  bloom  of  manhood.  In  1840,  I  was  junior  assistant-engineer,  and  had 
charge  of  construction  from  LaSalle  to  the  Bureau  River,  near  Inlet  Grove, 
Lee  County,  and  a  small  prairie  town  called  Greenfield,  in  Bureau  County. 
In  passing  through  Peru  last  week,  I  recalled  the  fact  that  in  June,  1837, 
Daniel  Webster  was  there  and  addressed  the  people  upon  the  future  of  Illinois, 
etc.,  followed  by  toasts,  etc.  [He  came  from  Peru  directly  to  Chicago  and 
addressed  the  people  here.]  And  I  wondered  how  many  there  were  left  in 
that  region  who  then  listened  to  the  great  "Expounder  and  Defender." 

The  glorious  Fourth  of  1837  we  celebrated  at  Greenfield,  on  the  banks  of 
the  dark  and  muddy  waters  of  the  Bureau  River.  Fletcher  Webster,  [son  of 
Daniel],  his  wife,  Theron  D.  Brewster,  and  pretty  much  all  the  people  there- 
abouts, were  present. 

Thanking  you  for  bringing  back  to  mind  long-buried  memories  of  my  early 
days,  and  pleasant  remembrances  of  old  friends  and  familiar  faces,  and  hoping 
you  and  yours  may  long  live  to  enjoy  prosperity,  I  am, 

Yours  as  ever,         FRED'K  A.  NASH. 


N. 

REMARKS  OF  MR.  WENTWORTH  AT  THE  OLD  SETTLERS'  REUNION  UPON 
THE  PRESENTATION  OF  MARK  BEAUBIEN'S  FIDDLE  TO  THE  CALUMET 
CLUB,  19  MAY,  iSSi :  I  am  a  little  embarassed  in  my  position  to-night,  as  I 
have  to  act  the  double  part  of  guest  and  host.  I  am  a  member  of  this,  the 
Calumet  Club,  and  I  am  entertaining  myself  whilst  the  Club  entertains  the 
old  settlers  of  Chicago.  But  in  either  capacity  I  can  not  but  give  expression 
to  my  pleasure.  I  am  grateful  to  my  colleagues  in  the  Club  for  their  hospi- 
talities, and  to  Divine  Providence  for  giving  to  so  many  of  Chicago's  pioneers 
life  and  strength  to  attend  this  our  third  annual  reception.  As  a  host,  I  wel- 
come you  in  veneration  for  old  associations,  and  as  a  guest  I  thank  my  col- 
leagues of  the  Club  for  their  appreciation. 

I  have  ever  felt  an  interest  in  the  history  of  Chicago,  but  more  especially 
since  the  fire  of  1871.  At  that  time,  I  was  engaged  in  preparing  an  index  to 
the  Chicago  Democrat  which  I  published  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  from 
1836  to  1 86 1;  such  an  index  being  a  labor-saving  institution  to  newspaper 
reporters  and  all  others  who  might  wish  to  refer  to  the  events  of  my  Chicago 
life.  If  people  were  desirous  of  information,  I  could  then  place  my  index 
before  them,  and  they  could  obtain  their  ends  without  disturbing  my  avoca- 
tions. But  the  fire  came  and  destroyed  both  papers  and  index.  I  was 
saved;  but  there  was  no  index  to  my  memory,  and  I  felt  that  I  and  all  of  the 
early  settlers  must  soon  pass  away.  What  then  was  to  be  done  to  gather  up 
and  perpetuate  our  history?  The  old  settlers  were  the  landmarks;  but  they 


78  FORT   DEARBORN. 

were  scattered,  and  many  of  them  outside  of  the  reach  of  the  Chicago  Direc- 
tory. The  members  of  the  Calumet  Club  comprehended  the  situation,  and 
resolved  to  bring  the  old  settlers  together  in  an  annual  entertainment,  the 
first  of  which  took  place  two  years  ago,  and  many  here  to-night  were  present 
upon  that  occasion  and  the  succeeding  one;  and  I  hope  they  will  live  to 
attend  many  others.  We  registered  our  names  with  the  date  of  our  arrival 
here,  with  the  place  of  our  birth,  and  with  our  ages.  And  we  also  gave  to 
the  secretary  of  the  Club  the  names  of  all  whom  we  knew  who  had  not  been 
invited,  in  order  that  they  might  be  invited  upon  future  occasions.  The 
result  has  been  that  it  is  believed  that  there  lives  not  anywhere  a  resident  of 
Chicago,  prior  to  1840,  who  was  of  age,  who  has  not  been  invited  to  these 
annual  receptions.  And,  when  they  can  not  come,  they  generally  write  an 
interesting  letter.  And,  when  from  the  infirmities  of  age,  they  are  incapaci- 
tated from  writing,  we  are  glad  to  know  that  some  friend  writes  for  them. 
Thus  our  proceedings  are  looked  upon  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  North- 
West.  Our  Chicago  editors  inform  me  that  no  one  of  their  daily  issues  is 
so  extensively  called  for  as  that  next  succeeding  the  evening  of  these  anniver- 
saries. The  proceedings  of  our  first  reception  were  published  in  a  pamphlet; 
and  that  pamphlet  now  has  a  place  in  all  the  Historical  Societies  of  the 
United  States;  and  in  most  of  those  of  the  Old  World.  I  ever  have  that 
pamphlet  upon  my  table,  and,  when  people  call  upon  me  for  information 
about  early  times,  if  I  can  not  impart  it,  I  look  over  the  registry  of  names, 
and  point  out  some  persons  who  I  think  can  do  so.  Thus,  between  us 
all,  we  can  impart  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information,  and  especially  to 
those  desirous  of  perfecting  their  land-titles.  What  else  can  compare  with 
these  Calumet-Club  receptions  in  restoring  our  history?  I  have  regretted  the 
non-attendance  of  the  widows  of  our  early  settlers.  This  is  to  be  provided 
for  hereafter,  as  the  Club  House  is  to  be  enlarged  to  a  capacity  that  will 
accommodate  them.  I  know,  personally,  over  one  hundred  widows  of  early 
settlers,  whose  presence  upon  these  occasions  would  be  both  pleasurable  and 
profitable.  Their  memories  are  as  good  as  ours  and  they  have  information  as 
valuable  as  ours.  Besides,  many  of  them  have  letters  and  papers  that  would 
settle  many  disputed  points,  which  we  have  not!  The  history  of  Chicago 
must  be  written,  and  it  must  be  written  accurately,  and  these  widows  and 
ourselves  must  furnish  the  material. 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  next  Saturday, 
to  match  my  voice  in  the  open  air  against  the  whistle  of  the  tug -boats 
that  run  up  and  down  the  Chicago  River,  at  the  junction  of  the  streets  at 
the  Rush- Street  bridge,  and  recite  the  history  of  Fort  Dearborn  from  its  con- 
struction, in  1804,  to  its  abandonment,  in  1837.  In  looking  up  material  for 
that  occasion,  I  have  felt  the  advantages  of  these  reunions  as  all  persons  will 
who  seek  knowledge  of  the  past.  If  any  of  you  have  any  old  papers  upon 
that  subject,  or  any  knowledge  that  has  never  been  published,  you  will 
subserve  the  cause  of  history  by  letting  me  know  it.  If,  after  I  have  delivered 
my  address,  you  notice  any  mistakes,  I  will  thank  you  to  inform  me  respect- 
ing them.  As  matters  now  are,  on  the  disappearance  of  official  records,  we 
are  much  dependant  upon  each  other  for  the  verity  of  history.  In  the  enter- 
prise and  competition  of  our  daily  papers,  Chicago's  history  has  been  much 
mystified.  Interesting  events  are  sought  after  and  commented  upon  without 
particularity  as  to  dates,  or  the  persons  concerned  in  them.  As  men  become 
old  they  too  often  become  garrulous,  and  where  they  can  not  procure  an 
audience,  they  often  write  letters  and  sign  their  names  to  them,  or  make 
statements  to  reporters,  and  such  go  to  the  world  as  the  veritable  remem- 
brances of  old  settlers.  They  generally  get  their  events  right,  but  they  too 
often  make  mistakes  in  dates  and  in  parties  to  them.  Hence  the  importance 


APPENDIX — MARK   BEAUBIEN'S   FIDDLE.  79 

of  reestablishing  the  old  landmarks,  which  it  is  the  mission  of  the  old  settlers 
who  meet  here  at  these  receptions  to  do.  Many  often  compliment  me  upon 
the  accuracy  of  my  memory.  But  it  is  no  better  than  the  most  of  yours.  And 
I  dare  not  trust  it  in  important  matters  unless  backed  by  old  papers  and  ex- 
periences which  I  am  ever  upon  the  look  out  to  gather  up  and  have  at  hand 
for  reference. 

My  fellow  old  settlers!  I  miss  several  faces  here  to-night  that  I  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  meeting.  Some  are  unavoidably  detained,  whilst  others  have 
gone  to  the  general  reunion  beyond  the  grave.  One  we  all  miss  more  than 
any  other  who  always  has  been  with  us.  We  miss  him  for  the  peculiar  kind 
of  music  that  he  always  furnished  us.  We  miss  him  because,  when  speaking 
of  any  Chicago  event,  he  was  never  the  man  to  say,  as  many  of  us  are  com- 
pelled to  say :  "  That  happened  before  I  came  to  Chicago. "  He  came  here 
in  1826,  and  was  a  voter  when  this  City  was  a  part  of  Peoria  County.  But 
he  had  seen  much  of  interest  "before  he  came  to  Chicago.  Never  again  shall 
we  behold  a  man  who  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Hull,  at  Detroit. 
I  allude  to  Mark  Beaubien,  who  died  at  the  residence  of  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
George  Mathews,  at  Kankakee,  in  this  State,  on  the  nth  April,  of  this  year. 
Upon  his  death-bed,  he  requested  that  his  riddle  be  given  to  me.  At  every 
other  reunion  of  Chicago's  old  settlers,  Mr.  Beaubien  has  been  present  and 
played  upon  it.  The  fiddle  is  here  now,  but  the  arm  that  wielded  the  bow  is 
palsied  in  death.  I  labored  among  his  descendants,  among  the  old  French 
pioneers,  and  among  you,  old  settlers,  to  find  some  one  to  play  a  dirge  upon 
it  to  his  memory  here  to-night.  But  I  was  unsuccessful.  And  now  I  present 
it  to  the  Calumet  Club,  as  he  was  ever  honored  here.  All  its  members  were 
ever  glad  to  see  him,  and  he  ever  felt  at  home  here.  And  as  he  has  passed 
away,  I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  his  oldest  son,  Frank  Gordon 
Beaubien,  now  present.  But  he  has  not  inherited  the  musical  taste  of  his 
father.  He  was  born  in  Chicago,  and  so  is  younger  than  the  fiddle  which  his 
father  brought  here  from  Detroit,  in  1826.*  How  long  he  had  it  before  he 
came  here  I  can  not  say.  It  has  done  service  enough  in  Chicago  to  entitle  it 
to  honor,  however.  Three  generations  have  listened  to  its  music  here.  I 
also  take  pleasure  in  introducing  you  to  his  cousin,  Alexander  Beaubien,  son 
of  the  late  Gen.  Jean  Baptiste  Beaubien,  who  was  at  Mackinaw  in  1812,  and 
saw  the  surrender  of  that  place  to  the  British  as  his  brother  Mark  did  that  of 
Detroit.  The  General  was  a  little  higher  toned  than  Mark,  and  brought  the 
first  piano  to  Chicago.  And  like  the  fiddle,  that  piano  has  been  well  pre- 
served; and,  after  long  use  in  Chicago,  it  is  now  doing  service  in  the  family 
of  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Sophia  (Beaubien)  Ogee,  at  Silver  Lake,  Kansas, 
daughter  of  the  late  Charles  Beaubien. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  permit  me  to  say  that  in  this  crowded  room,  crowded 
with  liberal  hosts  to  do  us  honor,  and  crowded  with  grateful  guests  to  receive 
that  honor,  I  want  to  shake  hands  with  every  old  settler  here  to-night  if  I 
have  not  already  done  so.  There  is  no  probability  that  we  shall  ever  all  meet 
here  again.  Yet  some  will  meet  here.  For  these  annual  receptions  are  to  be 
continuous  and  in  a  larger  hall.  I  want  you  all  to  be  enabled  to  say  when 
you  return  to  your  homes  and  you  are  asked  whom  you  met,  that  you  have 
once  more  shaken  hands  with  "Long  John"  Wentworth.  And,  if  you  live 
until  next  year,  and  I  live,  I  want  you  to  come  here,  see  our  new  hall,  and 
give  then  another  shake. 

*  Mark  Beaubien  was  not  the  last  survivor  of  the  settlers  of  1826.  Edward  Ament,  who 
voted  here  in  that  year,  now  lives  at  Newark,  Kendall  County,  111.,  and  has  a  son,  John 
Ament,  now  living  in  this  City.  He  had  four  brothers  once  living  here,  viz.:  Hiram,  now 
living  at  San  Jose,  California;  Justus  died  at  Big  Rock,  Kane  County,  111.;  Calvin  died 
at  Warsaw,  Hancock  County,  111. ;  John  died  at  Princeton,  Bureau  County,  111. ;  and  Anson 
died  at  La  Prairie.  Adams  County  111. — See  No.  7  of  Fergus'  Historical  Series,  page  16 


80  FORT   DEARBORN. 

On  occasions  of  this  kind  we  want  sociability  rather  than  speech- making. 
Refreshments  await  you  and  will  be  at  your  pleasure  as  long  as  you  stay. 
Let  us  now  waive  all  ceremony  and  resolve  ourselves  into  an  old-fashioned 
Love  Feast,  where  we  can  eat  drink  and  be  merry,  shouting  Glory  Hallelujah 
and  praising  the  Lord  for  extending  our  lives  to  the  present  time. 


O. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHICAGO  LIGHT-HOUSE. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  OFFICE  OF  LIGHT-HOUSE  BOARD, 

WASHINGTON,  June  6th,  1881. 

Sir:  Your  letter  of  May  27th,  relative  to  the  old  Chicago  light -house, 
within  the  precincts  of  Fort  Dearborn,  has  been  received. 

In  reply,  I  have  to  say  that  the  structure  in  question  was  built,  served  its 
purpose,  was  discontinued  and  removed,  prior  to  the  organization  of  the 
Light -House  Board,  and  that  the  only  information  this  office  can  obtain, 
with  regard  to  it,  is  from  the  imperfect  records  which  have  come  down  from 
those  who,  from  time  to  time,  previously  had  charge  of  the  light-house  ser- 
vice. Such  of  the  information  which  you  ask,  as  the  Board  is  able  to  furnish, 
is  herein  given. 

The  first  appropriation  known  to  the  Board  for  the  erection  of  the  structure 
in  question  was  made  by  the  Act,  approved  March  3,  1831,  and  is  as  follows: 
"$5000  for  building  a  light -house  at  the  mouth  of  Chicago  River,  Lake 
Michigan." 

The  next  appropriation  known  to  the  Board,  was  made  by  the  Act,  ap- 
proved March  3,  1847,  and  is:  "For  a  light-house  at  Chicago,  $3500." 

It  appears  from  the  various  light-house  lists,  published  by  the  Treasury 
Department  from  1838  to  1857,  that  the  Chicago  light-house  was  erected  in 
1831-2,  but  the  precise  date  upon  which  it  was  commenced,  and  upon  which 
it  was  finished,  is  not  given. 

In  the  light -house  list  for  1838,  the  building  is  described  as  follows: — 
"Chicago  light-house,  south  side  of  Chicago  River;  fixed  light;  tower  forty 
feet  high;  fourteen  inch  reflector;  four  lamps;  built  in  1831-2." 

The  records  of  the  office  show  nothing  with  regard  to  the  tradition  you 
mention,  relative  to  the  destruction  of  a  light-house  in  1831,  and  the  erection 
of  a  new  one  upon  the  same  spot.  There  appears,  thus  far,  no  evidence  that 
there  was  any  light-house  at  Fort  Dearborn  prior  to  1831. 

The  first  keeper  of  the  light,  of  whom  the  Board  has  any  record,  was 
Samuel  C.  LasVr,  who  received  $350  per  year. 

There  is  sent'to  your  address,  to-day,  a  copy  of  the  book  entitled  Docu- 
~ments  Relating  to  Light-Houses,  1789  to  i8ji,  and  you  are  referred  to  pages  88, 
245,  and  254,  where  mention  is  made  the  of  several  light-houses  at  and  near 
Chicago.  There  is,  also,  sent  you  a  book  entitled  Laius  and  Appropriations 
from  ij8g  to  fS'jJ,  and  you  are  referred  to  pages  93  and  132  for  the  appro- 
priations for  the  erection  of  the  old  Chicago  light-house,  and  to  pages  144, 
154,  and  193,  for  appropriations  relative  to  other  aids  to  navigation  in  the. 
neighborhood  of  Chicago;  also  to  the  index  on  page  227,  relative  to  the 
appropriations  made  within  the  above-mentioned  dates  for  aids  to  navigation 
in  the  State  of  Illinois. 

There  is  also  sent  you,  for  the  use  of  the  Historical  Society,  a  copy  of  the 
last  report  of  the  Light-House  Board,  and  of  the  last  issued  list  of  lights  on 
the  lakes,  in  which  you  will  find  mention  of  the  present  condition  of  the  lights 
near  Chicago.  Very  respectfully,  GEO.  DEWEY, 

Hon.  JOHN  WENTWORTH,  Chicago.       Commander  U.S.N.,  Naval  Sec'y. 


APPENDIX — COL.    PLYMPTON.  8 1 

P. 

FALL  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  LIGHT-HOUSE  AT  CHICAGO. 

LETTER  FROM  ISAAC  D.  HARMON,  (AGED  17),  TO  HIS  ELDER  BROTHER, 

CHARLES  L.  HARMON,  DECEASED. 

CHICAGO,  October  3ist,  1831. 

Dear  Brother:  We  have  had  a  flattener  pass  over  the  face  of  our  pros- 
pects in  Chicago.  The  light-house,  that  the  day  before  yesterday,  stood  in 
all  its  glory,  the  pride  of  this  wonderous  village,  is  now  "doused."  For  about 
a  week  past,  cracks  have  been  observed  in  it,  and  yesterday  they  began  to 
look  "squally. "  Mr.  Jackson,  (the  man  who  contracted  to  erect  the  building), 
[Probably  Samuel  Jackson,  alderman  in  1837,]  ordered  some  of  the  bottom 
stones,  which  looked  likely  to  fall,  to  be  taken  out.  Yet  he  and  his  men 
assured  people  there  was  no  danger  of  its  falling.  Jackson  said,  "You  can't 
get  it  down,"  but  there  were  others  who  were  not  so  sure.  My  father,  [Dr. 
Elijah  D.  Harmon],  in  the  afternoon,  told  them  it  leaned  to  one  side.  They 
laughed  at  him,  and  so  confident  were  some  of  its  standing,  that,  but  a  few 
hours  before  it  fell,  they  went  upon  the  top  of  it;  and  amongst  the  rest,  some 
women.  Stones  kept  dropping  from  the  hole  in  it;  and,  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  down  tumbled  the  whole  work  with  a  terrible  crash  and  a 
noise  like  the  rattling  of  fifty  claps  of  thunder.  The  walls  were  three  feet 
thick,  and  it  had  been  raised  fifty  feet  in  height;  so  you  must  know  it  made 
some  stir  when  it  fell.  The  first  thing  father  said  to  the  workmen  when  he 
went  out  was,  "Does  it  lean  any  now."  They  were  'shorn  of  their  locks,' 
and  had  nothing  to  say.  Various  reasons  are  assigned  as  the  cause  of  its 
falling.  Jackson  wants  to  make  it  appear  that  it  was  owing  to  the  quicksand 
under  the  building,  which  made  it  settle,  and  says  that  a  light-house  can  not 
be  made  to  stand  here.  It  would  be  greatly  for  his  interest  to  have  this  story 
believed;  as,  by  this  means  he  would  probably  get  pay  for  what  he  has  done; 
otherwise,  he  will  not.  People  here,  and  those  that  are  well  qualified  to 
judge,  say  there  is  no  such  thing  as  quicksand  about  it,  and  that  it  was  all 
owing  to  the  wretched  manner  in  which  it  was  built.  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
them.  Judging  from  the  piece  of  wall  now  standing,  the  mortar  looks  like 
dry  sand,  and  the  wall  is  two-thirds  filled  up  between  with  stones  not  bigger 
than  a  man's  head.  Finis. 

CHARLES  L.  HARMON,  Yours  affectionately, 

Burlington,  Vt.  ISAAC  D.  HARMON. 


Q- 

COL.   JOSEPH    PLYMPTON. 

Joseph  Plympton 'was  born  Feb.  24th,  1787,  at  Sudbury,  Mass.  He  was 
a  direct  descendant  of  Thomas  Plympton,  who  was  born  in  Sudbury,  Suffolk 
County,  England,  landed  in  Massachusetts  in  1633,  founded  the  town  of  Sud- 
bury, Mass.,  and  was  slain  by  the  Indians  on  Boone's  Plain,  April  16,  1667. 
Joseph  was  appointed  ad-lieutenant,  Jan.  3d,  1812,  in  the  4th  U.  S.  Infantry; 
promoted  to  ist-lieutenant,  July  ist,  1813;  to  captain,  June  1st,  1821,  in  the 
5th  U.  S.  Infantry,  and  brevetted  major,  June  i,  1831,  "for  ten  year's  faith- 
ful service."  On  March  15,  1824,  he  married  Eliza  Matilda  Livingston, 
daughter  of  Peter  William  Livingston,  of  New -York  City.  Among  the 
places  commanded  by  Brevet-Maj.  Plympton,  before  coming  to  Fort  Dear- 
born, are  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Fort  Snelling,  Minn.;  Fort  Armstrong,  Mississippi 
River;  Fort  Howard,  (Green  Bay,  Wis. );  and  Fort  Winnebago,  (Winnebago, 
Wis. )  After  his  command  of  Fort  Dearborn  he  was  ordered  to  Florida,  and 


82  FORT   DEARBORN. 

distinguished  himself  in  the  Seminole  war.  On  Sept.  22d,  1840,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  major  in  the  ad  U.  S.  Infantry,  and  on  Sept.  gth,  1846,  to  lieuten- 
ant-colonel in  the  7th  U.  S.  Infantry,  and  ordered  to  Mexico  in  command  of 
that  regiment.  For  "gallant  and  meritorious  conduct "  at  the  battle  of  Cerro 
Gordo,  he  was  brevetted  colonel.  From  1851,  for  two  years,  he  was  in  New- 
York  City,  as  general  superintendent  of  the  recruiting -service,  U.  S.  army. 
Feb.  9,  1854,  he  was  promoted  to  colonel  of  the  1st  U.  S.  Infantry,  and 
ordered  to  Galveston,  Texas.  Col.  Plympton  died  at  Staten  Island,  N.  Y., 
June  5,  1860.  Among  the  many  officers  under  his  command  during  his  long 
military  service  were  Gens.  U.  S.  Grant,  Philip  A.  Sheridan,  and  Nathaniel 
Lyon.  Mrs.  Col.  Plympton  died,  June  2Oth,  1873.  Of  their  children,  not 
elsewhere  mentioned,  are  Cornelia  De  Peyster,  born  at  Fort  Howard,  Green 
Bay,  Wis.,  and  married  to  Lieut.  Henry  M.  Black,  now  colonel  in  the  U.  S. 
army;  also,  Gilbert  M.,  of  New -York  City;  also,  Louisa  E.,  born  at  Fort 
Snelling,  and  married  to  Lieut.  John  Pitman,  Ordinance-Corps,  U.  S.  army. 


LITTLE  TURTLE. 

Drake's  Book  upon  the  Indians  says:  "Little  Turtle  died  14  July,  1812, 
aged  65  years,  at  his  residence  upon  Eel  River,  near  Fort  Wayne,  where  the 
government  had  built  him  a  house  and  provided  him  with  the  means  of  living. 
His  portrait,  by  Stewart,  is  now  in  the  War  Department  at  Washington." 
[From  this  it  appears  that  he  had  been  dead  over  a  month  at  the  time  of  the 
Chicago  massacre.] 

AN  INTERESTING  RELIC. 

A  letter  has  been  received  from  Charles  P.  Greenough,  an 
attorney  of  Boston,  a  little  yellow  with  age,  which  was  among  a 
collection  of  historical  letters  and  papers  the  gentleman  had,  and 
deemed  it  appropriate  to  send  to  Mayor  Harrison.  It  will  prove 
interesting  to  old  Chicagoans.  It  is  addressed  to  "John  John- 
son, Esq.,  U.  S.  Factor,  Fort  Wayne.  Per  the  express."  On 
the  outside  margin  is  the  name  of  the  writer,  Mr.  Lalime.  The 
letter  reads  as  follows : 

"CHICAGO,  yth  July,  1811. 

"Sir:  Since  my  last  to  you  we  have  news  of  other  depredations 
and  murders  committed  about  the  settlement  of  Cohokia.  The 
first  news  we  received  was  that  the  brothers-in-law  of  Mainpoe 
went  down  and  stole  a  number  of  horses.  Second,  another  party 
went  down,  stole  some  horses,  killed  a  man,  and  took  off  a  young 
woman,  but  they  being  pursued  were  obliged  to  leave  her  to  save 
themselves.  Third,  they  have  been  there  and  killed  and  de- 
stroyed a  whole  family.  The  cause  of  it,  or  in  part,  is  from  the 
little  chief  that  came  last  fall  to  see  Gov.  Harrison  under  the 
feigned  name  of  Wapewa.  He  told  the  Indians  that  he  had  told 
the  Governor  that  the  Americans  were  settling  on  their  lands,  and 
what  should  be  done  with  them.  He  told  the  Indians  that  the 
Governor  had  told  him  they  were  bad  people;  that  they  must 
drive  them  off,  kill  their  cattle,  and  steal  their  horses,  etc. 


APPENDIX — KILLING    OF   LALIME   EXPLAINED.        83 

"Being  the  quarter  ending  the  3oth  June  I  am  busy  with  the 
Factory,  and  have  a  number  of  Indians  here  paying  their  visit  to 
Capt.  Heald.  From  those  circumstances,  I  hope,  sir,  you  will 
excuse  my  hurry.  Please  give  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Johnston.  I 
am  with  respect,  sir,  your  obedient  servant,  J.  LALIME."* 

*  THE  KILLING  OF  LALIME  EXPLAINED. 

CHICAGO,  June  25th,  1881. 

HON.  JOHN  WENTWORTH, — Dear  Sir:  Your  note  of  the  22d  inst.  I 
received  yesterday.  Thanks  for  the  slip  you  enclosed. 

In  reply  to  your  inquiries  I  have  to  say,  that  I  think  Mathew  Irwin  was  not 
sub-agent  at  Fort  Dearborn,  but  that  he  was  United  States  factor,  acting  also 
as  Indian-agent.  His  duties  were  principally  confined  to  Indian  affairs,  under 
the  direction  of  the  commanding  officer,  when  he  was  not  specially  instructed 
by  the  Department  at  Washington. 

As  regards  the  unfortunate  killing  of  Mr.  LaLime,  by  Mr.  John  Kinzie,  I 
have  heard  the  account  of  it  related  by  Mrs.  Kinzie,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Helm.  Mr.  Kinzie  never,  in  my  hearing,  alluded  to  or  spoke  of  it.  He  deeply 
regretted  the  act.  Knowing  his  aversion  to  converse  on  the  subject,  I  never 
spoke  to  him  about  it. 

Mrs.  Kinzie  said  that  her  husband  and  LaLime  had  been  for  several  years 
on  unfriendly  terms,  and  had  had  frequent  altercations;  that  at  the  time  of 
the  encounter,  Mr.  Kinzie  had  crossed  the  River  alone,  in  a  canoe,  going  to 
the  Fort;  and  that  LaLime  met  him  outside  of  the  garrison  and  shot  him, 
the  ball  cutting  the  side  of  his  neck.  She  supposed  LaLime  saw  her  husband 
crossing,  and,  taking  his  pistol,  went  through  the  gate  purposely  to  meet  him. 
Mr.  Kinzie  closing  with  LaLime  stabbed  him,  and  retreated  to  his  house  cov- 
ered with  blood.  He  told  his  wife  what  he  had  done,  that  he  feared  he  had 
killed  LaLime,  that  probably  a  squad  would  be  sent  for  him,  and  that  he 
must  hide.  She,  in  haste,  took  bandages,  and  with  him  retreated  to  the 
woods,  where,  as  soon  as  possible,  she  dressed  his  wounds,  returning  just  in 
time  to  meet  an  officer  with  a  squad,  with  orders  to  seize  her  husband.  He 
could  not  be  found.  For  some  days  he  was  hid  in  the  bush,  and  cared  for  by 
his  wife. 

LaLime  was,  I  understood,  an  educated  man,  and  quite  a  favorite  with  the 
officers,  who  were  greatly  excited.  They  decided  he  should  be  buried  near 
Mr.  Kinzie's  house,  and  he  was  buried  near  the  bank  of  the  River,  about  the 
present  terminus  of  Rush  Street,  and  within  about  two  hundred  yards  of  Mr. 
Kinzie's  house,  in  plain  view  from  his  front-door  and  piazza.  Tlie  grave  was 
enclosed  by  a  picket-fence,  which  Mr.  Kinzie,  in  his  life-time,  kept  in  perfect 
order.  My  impression  has  ever  been  that  Mr.  Kinzie  acted,  as  he  told  his 
wife,  in  self-defence.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that,  after  a  full  investi- 
gation by  the  officers,  whose  friend  the  deceased  was,  they  acquitted  Mr.  Kin- 
zie, who  then  returned  to  his  family. 

In  some  of  these  details  I  may  be  in  error,  but  the  fact  has  ever  been  firm 
in  my  mind  that  LaLime  made  the  attack,  provoking  the  killing  in  self-defence. 
Most  certainly  Mr.  Kinzie  deeply  regretted  the  result,  and  avoided  any  refer- 
ence to  it.  Yours,  G.  S.  HUBBARD. 

6 


84  FORT   DEARBORN. 

THE  FIRST  LAKE-STEAMER. 

THE   OLD   STEAMBOAT   WALK-IN-THE-  WATER. 

Levi  Bishop,  of  Detroit,  in  a  series  of  articles,  in  the  Post  and  Tribune  of 
that  City,  on  the  early  history  of  lake  navigation,  gives  the  following  account 
of  the  old  steamboat  Walk-in-the-  Water,  the  first  steamer  that  plied  Lake  Erie: 

"Capt.  Newhall  is  doing  good  work  as  a  historian  of  our  lake  marine.  He 
has  an  old  registry  of  the  Custom-House  of  Detroit,  of  1818,  when  William 
Woodbridge  was  the  Collector  of  the  Port.  This  record  settles  the  point  that 
the  Walk-in-the-  Water,  being  the  first  steamboat  that  ever  navigated  on  Lake 
Erie,  arrived  at  Detroit,  August  27,  1818,  and  that  she  cleared  for  her  return 
trip  to  Buffalo  the  next  day.  She  was  in  general  form  a  schooner,  with  an 
engine  and  two  side-wheels,  and  she  was  named  after  an  Indian  chief,  who 
found  a  local  habitation  and  a  name  somewhere  on  the  borders  of  the  Detroit 
River,  and  probably  in  many  other  places  too  numerous  to  mention.  She  was 
doubtless  a  clumsy  craft,  but  was  a  good  experiment  for  the  early  days  of 
steam  navigation.  The  record  referred  to  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
and  it  contains  much  valuable  historical  information.  The  pioneer  steamboat 
went  ashore  and  was  wrecked  on  or  near  Long  Point,  in  the  year  1819  or 
1820,  and  thus  she  ceased  to  walk  in  the  water  and  found  a  grave  therein. 
From  that  small  beginning,  the  steamboats  on  the  lakes  went  on  increasing 
till  they  rivaled  the  sail  vessels  in  number  and  far  surpassed  them  in  magni- 
tude, accommodations,  and  attractions.  Between  1830  and  1840,  and  on  from 
the  latter  date  till  the  railroads  began  to  acquire  the  through  carrying  business, 
the  lake  steam  marine  was  surpassed  by  but  few,  if  any,  in  the  world.  The 
old  North  America,  the  Commodore  Perry,  the  Illinois,  and  the  Michigan  are 
with  others  well  remembered.  Then  the  great  steamboat  line  was  from 
Buffalo  to  Chicago,  about  1000  miles,  and  a  Chicago  boat,  with  such  men  as 
Capts.  Blake  and  Appleby  and  others  on  deck,  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
great  'institutions'  of  the  country.  They  were  positively  traveling  luxuries. 
Of  course  it  took  longer  to  make  the  trip  than  it  now  does  by  rail,,  but  those 
large  steamboats  presented  attractions  and  comforts  which  no  railroad-cars  can 
afford.  The  old  Michigan  had  two  engines,  —  one  on  each  side,  —  which,  with 
the  side-wheels,  ran  wholly  independent  of  each  other.  This  was  all  well  in 
a  smooth  sea,  but  in  rough  weather  one  wheel  would  be  deep  in  the  water  or 
in  a  swell,  and  would  move  slow,  while  the  other  at  the  same  time  would  be 
all,  or  nearly  all,  out  of  the  water,  and  would,  consequently,  fly  like  lightning. 
This  had  the  effect  to  jerk  the  boat  about  in  different  directions,  and  make  the 
navigation  unpleasant  and  difficult.  The  double  independent  engines  were, 
doubtless,  an  experiment,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  have  never  been  imitated. 
It  seems  to  be  thought  better  to  have  the  two  wheels  connected  by  a  long 
.shaft,  so  that  when  one  does  the  work  the  other  shall  be  kept  in  order  and 
inseparable  attachment.  It  was  sometimes  positively  thrill- 


__ 

ing  to~seeoldCap^  Blake  on  the  upper  deck  in  a  storm,  as  he  maintained  his 
perfect  self-possession  and  directed  the  ship  beneath  him,  while  the  noble 
vessel 

'Walked  the  water  like  a  thing  of  life, 
And  seemed  to  dare  the  elements  to  strife.' 

"Passengers  had  most  perfect  confidence  in  him,  as  they,  no  doubt,  had  in 
many  other  of  our  lake  captains.  The  owner  of  the  old  Illinois  was  a  well- 
known  citizen.  He  was  popularly  known  as  the  'Commodore  of  the  Lakes.' 
He  was  a  Whig  of  the  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  and  John  J.  Crittenden 
school.  He  was  a  patriotic  citizen,  and,  as  expressing  his  sentiments  and  the 
true  spirit  of  the  State  and  National  Governments,  he  placed  at  the  masthead 
of  the  Illinois  a  streamer,  nearly  or  quite  forty  feet  long,  with  the  words 


APPENDIX — CHICAGO'S  FIRST  PIANO.  85 

'State  Sovereignty  and  National  Union'  boldly  inscribed  upon  it  in  large  and 
conspicuous  letters.*  That  old  steamboat  and  that  National  sentiment  were 
the  pride  of  Oliver  Newberry  [of  Detroit],  as  well  as  the  pride  and  boast  of 
all  beholders.  When  the  railroads  came  into  full  operation,  two  grand  float- 
ing palaces — the  Plymouth  Rock  and  the  Western  World — were  put  on  Lake 
Erie,  between  Detroit  and  Buffalo,  by  the  Michigan  Central  Railway  Com- 
pany. They  were  popular,  and  a  great  relief  and  comfort  to  the  traveling 
public,  but  they  were  soon  discontinued  by  railroad  interests,  since  which  our 
first-class  steam  navigation  has  disappeared,  except  on  the  Lake  Superior 
lines. " 


CHICAGO'S  FIRST  PIANO. 
To  the  Editor  of  The  Chicago  Tribune:  CHICAGO,  July  9,  1881. 

In  your  issue  of  July  7,  you  published  a  letter  from  Charles  Cleaver,  Esq., 
one  of  our  oldest  and  most  honored  citizens,  whose  reminiscences  are  in  the 
main  correct;  he  is,  however,  mistaken  in  some  things,  which  I  desire  to  cor- 
rect: 

1.  The  first  piano  brought  to  Chicago  was  by  John  B.  Beaubien,  about 
1834,  as  Mr.  Wentworth  states,  and  not  by  Mr.  Samuel  Brooks.     Mrs.  Capt. 
J.  B.  F.  Russell  and  Mrs.  John  H.  Kinzie  came  here  prior  to  Mr.  Brooks, 
bringing  their  pianos. 

2.  He  says,  in  speaking  of  the  old  residence  of  John  Kinzie,  that  he  was, 
at  the  time  he  came  here,  living  in  a  "spacious  log-house  about  opposite  Dear- 
born Street."     It  was  his  son,  John  H.  Kinzie,  who  was  then  living  there; 
and  the  house  was  the  United  States  Indian- Agency,  the  logs  of  which  were 
put  up  by  the  Indian  Agent,  Jouett,  and  left  without  either  roof  or  floors,  and 
finished  and  occupied  by  his  successor,  Alexander  Wolcott,  and  located  where 
is  now  the  S.-W.  corner  of  North  State  and  North  Water  Streets,  now  em- 
braced in  Wolcott's  Addition.      Mr.  Wolcott  married  a  sister  of  John  H. 
Kinzie  before  there  was  any  one  authorized  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony 
nearer  than  Peoria,  111., "from  which  place,  Mr.  John  Hamlin,  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  was  sent  for  and  married  them.     Mrs.  Wolcott,  after  the  death  of  her 
husband,  obtained  a  patent  from  the  Government,  under  the  preemption  law,, 
for  this  eighty  acres,  now  Wolcott's  Addition  to  Chicago. 

3.  I  differ  with  Mr.  Cleaver  in  regard  to  the  continued  inundation  of  the 
prairie  between  the  Chicago  and  Desplaines  Rivers.     It  was  only  during 
spring  and  fall  rains,  or  unusually  heavy  rains,  that  the  roads  were  in  the  con- 
dition described  by  him.     Generally  in  summer  and  early  fall  the  road  was 
perfectly  dry,  and  very  fine  and  smooth  for  horse  and  driver;  there  was  an 
elasticity  to  our  high  or  low  prairie  roads  that  made  them  far  superior  to 
macadamized  ones;  they  were  delightfully  free  from  ruts  or  sloughs. 

I  trust  Mr.  Cleaver  will  continue  to  give  us  his  valuable  information,  and 
that  he  will  pardon  me  for  this  correction.  We  old  settlers  are  making  history 
for  generations  that  may  come  after  us,  and  we  should  be  careful  to  make  it 
correct.  I  will  thank  him  to  correct  any  mistatements  that  may  come  from 
me.  G.  S.  HUBBARD. 

*  The  Steamer  fllitiois,  Capt.  Chelsey  Blake,  was  presented  with  a  suit  of  colors,  on 
July  23,  1839,  by  the  citizens  of  Chicago.  Hon.-  Wm.  B.  Ogden  made  the  presentation 
speech,  and  Walter  L.  Newberry,  Esq-,  replied.  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  was  present,  and 
Mr.  Ogden  referred  to  him  as  the  tried  jpund  of  Chicago.  —See  Chicago  Daily  American, 
July  24,  1839. 


86 


FORT  DEARBORN. 


Chicago,  July  20,  1881. 

HON.  J.  WEXTWORTH;  Dear  Sir: — Referring  to  yours  of  the  I5th  inst., 
in  which  you  submit,  for  my  criticism,  the  cut  representing  "  Fort  Dearborn 
and  Chicago  in  1831,"  taken  from  Wau-Bun,  by  Mrs.  Juliette  A.  Kinzie, 
published  in  1857: 

I  can  not  believe  that  Mrs.  Kinzie  saw  the  picture  until  it  appeared  in  her 
Wau-Bun.  It  was  probably  engraved  from  a  sketch  by  her,  and  sent  to  her 


APPENDIX — ADDITIONAL   EARLY   RECORDS.  87 

publishers,  without  an  opportunity  for  her  correction.  It  is  certainly  unlike 
the  Fort  and  surroundings,  as  I  recollect  them. 

The  view  appears  to  be  from  the  north-east,  as  the  enclosure  of  the  Fort 
was  nearly  north  and  south,  east  and  west.  The  River  is  intended  to  be 
shown  inland  probably  not  farther  than  Dearborn  or  Clark  Streets,  as  the 
Agency  house  was  at  the  corner  of  North- Water  and  North-State  Streets. 

Fort  Dearborn  is  represented  as  located  on  a  high  elevation,  much  above 
the  Kinzie  House.  This  is  incorrect,  as  the  ground  at  the  Fort  was  not  over 
eight  feet  above  the  River  at  its  lowest  stage,  while  the  Kinzie  House  was 
two  or  three  feet  higher  than  the  Fort. 

There  was  no  sharp  point  in  front  of  the  Fort,  north,  as  shown  in  the  cut. 
The  slope  to  the  River  was  gradual.  At  no  place  fronting  the  north  line  of 
pickets  was  there  over  80  feet  to  the  water's  edge;  and  at  the  narrowest  point, 
opposite  the  north  gate,  from  50  to  60  feet. 

The  bend  of  the  River,  westerly  from  the  Fort,  was  gradual.  The  direc- 
tion of  the  River  from  the  bend,  westerly,  was  almost  straight  to  Franklin 
Street.  From  Franklin  Street  it  turned  gradually  southward  to  the  junction 
of  the  north  and  south  branches.  The  point  of  junction  of  the  two  streams 
was  in  sight  from  the  Kinzie  House.  There  was  no  sharp  inlet  in  front  of 
the  Kinzie  House,  as  represented  in  the  cut,  but  there  was  a  slight  bend  cor- 
responding with  the  slight  curve  opposite.  The  direction  of  the  cut  through 
the  sand-bar  and  the  piers  erected  conformed  to  the  general  course  of  the 
River  at  the  Kinzie  House. 

The  cut  shows  the  Block- House  to  be  the  highest  building.  It  was  consid- 
erably lower  than  the  officers'  or  soldiers'  quarters.  The  brick  building, 
erected  in  about  1824  or  '25,  not  shown  in  this  cut,  was  the  most  prominent 
structure.  It  was  located  about  10  feet  south  of  and  parallel  with  the  north 
picket,  and  about  10  or  15  feet  west  of  the  north  gate.  It  was  within  the 
Fort  enclosure,  and  would  partially  hide  in  this  view  the  officers'  original 
quarters.  There  was  no  fence  along  the  River  edge,  east  of  the  stockade. 

The  Kinzie  House  was  about  200  feet  from  the  River,  with  a  piazza  the 
whole  length  of  its  south  front.  The  yard  in  front  was  enclosed  by  a  split- 
picket  fence.  Inside  and  close  to  the  east-and-west  fence  was  a  row  of  Lom- 
bardy  poplar  trees.  From  the  piazza,  the  inside  of  the  Fort  was  visible 
through  to  the  south  gate.  G.  S.  HUBBARD. 

FORT-DEARBORN   MUSTER-ROLL, 

THE  LATEST  ox  FILE  AT  WASHINGTON  BEFORE  THE  MASSACRE. 

From  a  letter  received  from  Hon.  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Secretary  of  War, 
July  19,  1 88 1,  after  most  of  this  pamphlet  had  been  printed,  it  appears  that 
no  Muster- Roll,  giving  the  names  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Dearborn  in 
1811  or  '12,  is  on  file  in  the  War  Department.  But  the  general  returns  of 
the  U.  S.  Army  show  that  the  Fort  was  garrisoned  from  June  4,  1804,  to 
June,  1812,  by  a  portion  of  the  1st  Infantry,  In  these  returns,  the  strength 
of  the  garrison,  including  commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers, 
musicians,  and  privates,  is  given  at  various  times  as  follows:  June  4,  1804, 
Capt.  John  Whistler,  69;  Dec.  31,  1806,  -  — ,  66;  Sept.  30,  1809, 

Capt.  John  Whistler,  77;  Sept.  30,  1810,  Capt.  Nathan  Heald,  67;  Sept.  30, 
1811,  Capt.  Nathan  Heald,  51;  June — ,  1812,  Capt.  Nathan  Heald,  53. 

The  name  of  Fort  Dearborn  appears  upon  record  as  early  as  June  4,  1804. 

The  Muster- Roll  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Dearborn,  that  is  here  given,  was 
obtained  from  the  Third  Auditor's  Office  of  the  Treasury  Department,  where 
it  is  on  file  as  a  voucher.  It  is  of  the  latest  date  that  can  be  found.  From 
the  same  office  was  obtained  the  affidavit  of  William  Griffith  and  the  letter 
by  Capt.  Nathan  Heald. 


88 


FORT   DEAR15ORX. 


Muster-Rcll  of  a  Company  of  Infantry  under  the  command  of  Captain  Nathan 
Heald  in  the  First  Regiment  of  the  United  States,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Jacob  Kingsbury,  from  Nov.  30,  when  last  Mustered,  to  Dec.  31,  1810: 


1 

NO 

NAMES. 

RANK. 

App'ed  or  Enlib.u 

d.    Re 

narks  and  Changes  since  last  Muster. 

I 

Nathan  Heald,     -    - 

Captain, 

31  Jan.,  1807, 

On  furlough  in  Massachusetts. 

Av 

2 

Phillip  O'Strander, 

-  ad  Lieu't, 

i  May,  1808, 

Present,  of  Capt.  Rhea's  Co.,  Act.  asst. 

^^ 

3 

Seth  Thompson,   -     - 

n 

18  Aug.,  1808, 

n 

M'y  agent.    Sick. 

4 

!)hn  Cooper,    - 

Surg.Mate,i3  June,  1808,         n 

\ 

t 

>seph  Glass, 

Sergeant, 

18  June,  1806, 

n 

[Term  of  all  enlisted  men,  5  yrs. 

2 

>hn  Crozier.  - 

ii 

2  July,   1808, 

n 

[ 

3 

ichard  Rickman,     - 

n 

ro  May,  1806, 

n 

i 

1  homas  Forth, 

-  Corporal, 

6  July,  1807, 

n 

• 

3 

Asa  Cambell,  -    -      - 

t, 

26  Jan.,  1810, 

if 

\ 

3 
4 

Rhodias  Jones, 
Richard  Garner,  - 

-     ;; 

9  Dec.,  1807, 
2  Oct.,   1810, 

11 

RECAPITULATION  t 

Present,    fit   for  duty,    50; 

\ 

> 

1 

2 

3 

George  Burnet, 
John  Smith,  - 
John  Hamilton, 

-      Fifer, 
-  Drummer 

T  Oct.,  1806, 
27  June,  i8c6, 
,  5  July,  1808, 

ii 

n 

sick,  6;   unfit   for  service,   3. 
On  command,  i.  On  furlough, 
i.    Discharged,  6.    Total,  67. 

4 

Hugh  McPherson,    - 

n 

20  Oct.,  1807, 

n 

1  ' 

I 

John  Allen, 

Pr  vate, 

27  Nov  ,  1810, 

n 

2 

George  Adams,  - 

, 

21  Aug.,  1806, 

it 

3 

Presley  Andrews,  - 

i 

ii  July,  1806, 

n 

Sick. 

4 

Thomas  Ashbrook,    - 

, 

29  Dec.,  1805, 

Term  of  service  expired,  29  Dec.,  1810. 

5 

Thomas  Burnes,    - 

- 

8  June,  1806, 

Presei 

t. 

6 

Patrick  Burk,     -      - 

27  May,  1806, 

n 

Sick. 

• 

7 

Redmond  Berry,   - 

. 

2  July,  1806, 

it 

8 

William  Best,      -      - 

22  April,  1806, 

n 

Unfit  for  service. 

. 

9 

James  Chapman,  - 

- 

i  Dec.,  1805, 

Time  expired,  i  December,  1810. 

V 

10 

James  Corbin, 

2  Oct.,  1810, 

Preser 

t 

1 

ti 

Fielding  Corbin,    - 

. 

7  Dec.,  1805, 

Time  expired,  7  December,  1810. 

1    '^^ 

12 

Silas  Clark,  -      -      - 

15  Aug.,  1806, 

On  co 

mmand  at  Fort  Wayne. 

*  l^> 

\ 

»3 

James  Clark,  - 

4  Dec.,  1805, 

Time  expired,  4  December,  1810. 

V" 

4 

14 

Dyson  Dyer, 

i  Oct.,  1  8  10, 

Preser 

t.    Sick. 

J  r 

-•y 

'5 

Stephen  Draper,    - 

- 

19  July,  1806, 

n 

vl    T 

J 

16 

Daniel  Doryherty,    - 

13  Aug.,  1807, 

it 

X   1 

^ 

17 

Michijah  Denison,  - 

T 

24  April,  1806, 

n 

y\     U. 

18 

Nathan  Edson,  - 

6  April,  1810, 

ii 

H   V\ 

'9 

John  Fury, 

- 

19  Mch,  1808, 

ii 

J\ 

20 
21 

Paul  Grummo,    - 
William  N.  Hunt,  - 

i  Oct  ,  1810, 
8  Oct.,  1  8  10, 

i  k 

22 

John  Kelso,  - 

17  Dec.,  if  05, 

Time  of  service  expired,  17  Dec.,  1810. 

K  1 

23 

David  Kennison,   - 

. 

14  Mch,  1808, 

Preser 

t. 

•    * 

24 

Samuel  Kilpatrick,   - 

20  Dec.,  1810, 

it 

Re-enlisted,  20  Dec.,  1810. 

4    \ 

25 

Jacob  Laudon, 

. 

28  Nov.,  1807, 

n 

Unfit  for  service. 

*        26  James  Latta,  -    - 

10  April,  1810, 

ii 

A      \ 

27 

Michael  Lynch,     - 

- 

20  Dec.,  1  8  10, 

n 

Re-enlisted,  20  Dec.,  1810. 

X*    1 

1 

2$ 

Michael  Leonard, 

13  April,  1810, 

n 

i  v 

t 

29 

Hugh  Logan,  - 

- 

5  May,  1806, 

ii 

4   > 

3° 

Frederick  Locker,     - 

13  April,  1810, 

n 

• 

A    s 

1 

Andrew  Loy,  - 

6  July,  1807, 

ii 

M    ^ 

k 

3  2 

August  Mortt,    - 

• 

9  July,  1806, 

I! 

,        •• 

V 

3? 

Ralph  Miller,  -      - 

- 

19  Dec.,  1805, 

Time  of  servipe  expired,  19  Dec.,  1810. 

t 

v     ^ 

34 
35 
30 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 

Peter  Miller, 
Duncan  McCarty,  • 
Patrick  McGowen,   - 
James  Mabury, 
William  Moffitt,  -      - 
John  Moyan,  - 
John  Needs,  - 
Joseph  Noles.  - 
Thomas  Poindexter,  - 

-          • 

13  June,  1806, 
31  Aug.,  1807, 
30  April,  1806, 
14  April,  1806, 
23  April,  1806, 
28  June,  i  So5, 
5  July,  1808, 
8  Sept.,  1810, 
3  Sept..  1810, 

Preser 
n 

ii 

t.    Unfit  fat.  service. 

t^e   certify  on   honor   that 
this   Muster  -Roll   exhibits  a 
trvJe  statement  of  the  company 
commanded  by  Capt.  Nathan 
Heald.  «and  that  the  remarks 

*     > 

^    > 

I 

k 

k 

43 
44 

William  Prickitt,    - 
Frederick  Peterson,  - 

- 

6  June,  i°o6, 
i  June,  1808, 

ii 
n 

set  opposite   their  names  are 
accurate  and  just. 
PH.  O'STRANDER,  Lieut., 

n 

Y 

^  v 
47 

John  Suttonfield,l£  - 
John  Smith,     -      > 

. 

8  Sept",  1807', 
2  April,  1808, 

t| 

Commanding  the  Company, 
J.  COOPER,  S.-Mate. 

[ 

f 

43 

James  Starr,  - 

1  8  Nov.,  1809, 

H 

1     i 

49 

Phillip  Smith.  -      - 

- 

30  April,  1806, 

It' 

1    / 

5° 

John  Simmons,  - 

14  Mch,  1810, 

Ii 

Pay  due  from  i  July,  1810;  sick. 

I  / 

5> 

James  Van  Home,  - 

. 

2  May,  1810, 

tt 

Sick. 

9  L 

a 

52 

Anthony  L.  Waggoae 

r, 

9  Jan.,  1806, 

K- 

4    /    *  j*^. 

APPENDIX — ADDITIONAL   EARLY   RECORDS.  So 

> 

THK   LAST   PAYMENT  TO  THE  GARRISON  OF   FORT  DEARBORN    BEFORK.  ;, 

THE  MASSACRE. 
TERRITORY  OF  MICHIGAN,  ) 

DISTRICT  OF  DETROIT.     \   °  Personally  appeared   before  me,  the 

undersigned,  a  justice-of-the-peace  in  and  for  the  district  aforesaid,  William 
Griffith,  late  lieutenant  of  the  28th  United  States  Regiment  of  Infantry,  who, 
being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and  saith  that  in  the  month  of  June,  1812,  he, 
deponent,  was  orderly-sergeant  of  Capt.  Heald's  company  of  the  1st  Regiment 
of  U.  S.  Infantry,  stationed  at  Fort  Dearborn,  Chicago,  and  well  knows  that 
said  company  was  paid  in  the  month  of  June,  1812,  by  Lieut.  Eastman*,  through 
Capt.  Heald,  nine  months'  pay  to  the  said  month  of  June  inclusive,  and  that 
the  company  at  that  time  consisted  of  sixty-five  rank  and  file,  who,  together 
with  the  officers,  received  nine  months'  pay  as  aforesaid;  and  deponent  further 
saith  that  as  he  then  understood  and  verily  believes  there  was  at  the  same  time 
a  deposit  made  and  left  in  the  hands  of  Capt.  Heald  of  three  months'  addition- 
al pay,  which,  together  with  other  public  property,  was  taken  by  the  Indians 
on  the  1 5th  of  August,  following,  in  consequence  of  the  capture  of  the  place. 

JFNtt,  GRIFFITHS 
Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  THOMAS  ROWLAND, 

this  22d  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1818.  Justice-of-the- Peace. 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  )  Hollis,  Sept.  25,  1819.          >V      • 

HILLSBOROTGH,'  ss.  \      I,  the  undersigned,  a  justice-of-the-peace     c\j     \1 

in  and  for  the  County  aforesaid,  do  certify  that  I  have  carefully  examined  and      \      V 
•compared  the  foregoing  copy  with  the  original,  and  find  it  true  and  correct.         ^     ^ 

BENJA.  FARLEY,  Justice- Peace.      v<   ^ 

ST.  CHARLES,  MISSOURI  TERRITORY,  May  i8th,  1820.         ^ 

SIR: — I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter  of  the 3Oth of  March,  a  few  ^ 

•days  since.     The  garrison  at  Chicago,  commanded  by  me  at  the  time  Detroit      ^ 
•was  surrendered  by  Gen.  Hull,  were  every  man  paid  up  to  the  3<Dth  of  June,      X  ^. 
1812,  inclusive,  officers'  subsistence  and  forage  included.  N^  IT 

The  last  payment  embraced  nine  months,  and  was  made  by  myself  as  the  -  \     ^ 
agent  of  Mr.  Eastman,  he  having  deposited  the  money  with  me  for  that  pur-'  O    V& 
pose.     After  making  the  payment,  there  was  a  small  balance  remaining  in  my     ^  V* 
liands  in  favor  of  Mr.  Eastman,  but  I  can  not  say  what  the  amount  was.     J     A. 
Every  paper  relative  to  that  transaction  was  soon  after  lost.     I  am,  however,      0        * 
confident   there  was  no  deposit  with  me  to  pay  the  garrison  for  the  three    ^  j  X 
months' subsequent  to  the  3Oth  of  June,  1812.  <£^ 

The  receipt-rolls  which  I  had  taken  for  Mr.  Eastman,  together  with  the  K^f  N^j  " 
balance  of  money  in  my  hands,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians  on  the  ijth  ^  .V 
of  August,  1812,  when  the  troops  under  my  command  were  defeated  near    ^J  \i 
Chicago ;  what  became  of  them  afterwards,  I  know  not.     I  have  no  papers  ^ 
in  my  possession  relative  to  that  garrison  excepting  one  muster-roll  for  the 
month  of  May,  1812.     By  it  I  find  the  garrison  then  consisted  of  one  captain; 
one  2d-lieutenant;  one  ensign;  one  surgeon's-mate;  4  sergeants;  2  corporals; 
4  musicians;  and  41  privates.     I  can  not  determine  what  the  strength  of  the 
garrison  was  at  any  other  time  during  the  years  1811  and  1812,  but  it  was  on 
the  decline.     Monthly  returns  were  regularly  transmitted  to  the  adjutant  and 
inspector-general's  office,  at  Washington  City,  which,  I  suppose,  can  be  found 
at  any  time.  I  am  respectfully,  sir,  your  most  obed't  serv't,  ^ 

PETER  HAGNER,  Esq.,  3d  Auditor's  Office,  NATHAN  HEALD. 

Treasury  Department,  Washington  City. 

*  Jonathan  Eastman,  from  Vermont,  was  appointed  ensign,  ist  Infantry,  July,  18,  1803; 
•2d-lieutenant  Artillery,  March,  1805;  District  Pa^dSter.  jjffi:   ^t-lieutenant,  June.^iSo?; 

f£jU* 


90  FORT   DEARBORN. 

Semi-Annual  Muster-Roll  of  Capt.  St.  Clair  Denny's  Company,  ("A")  of  the 
Fifth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Army  of  the  United  States,  (Col.  Bvt.  Brig.- 
Gen.  George  M.  Brooke,)  from  June  30,  1836,  when  last  mustered,  to 
Dec.  31,  1836. 

ENLISTED. 
NO.  NAMES.  RANK.  WHEN.  WHERE.       YRS.  REMARKS. 

1  St.  Clair  Denny,         Capt,    April   i,  '36,      [Penn.  J       -  Commanding  Company. 

2  E.  K.  Smith,     -    -  ist-Lt,  March  4, '33,      [Conn.]       -  [joined  since  his  promotion. 

3  Samuel  Whitehorn,  2d-Lt,  Oct.  31,  '36,       [R.  I.J       -  At  Fort  Winnebago,  not  having 

1  Nathan'l  Carpenter,  Sergt,  April  13,  '35,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Orderly  Sergeant. 

2  Michael  Rothmon,         it        April  18,  '34,      Albany,      3  Prompted  to  Sergt,  Nov.  21,  '36. 

1  John  Jack,    -     -     -   CorpL,  July  14,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Appointed  Corpl.,  Sept  20,  '36. 

2  Daniel  O'Connell,          n         Nov.    2,  '36,  Ft  Dearb'n,  3  Appointed  Corpl.,  Nov.  21,  1836. 

1  Benjamin  Yoemans,  Mus.,    May   i,   "35,  Ft.  Howard,  3 

2  Michael  Walsh,  -          »        Dec.  26,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 
i  Wm.  R.  Armstrong,   Pvt  ,     April  30,  '34,     Albany,      3 


.      . 

2  John  Aylward,     - 

3  David  Barry,    -    - 

4  Thomas  Br«wn,  - 

5  Richard  Clegg,      - 

6  James  M.  Clemons, 

7  Thorndike  Clary,  - 

8  Hugh  Donoly,     - 

9  Alvah  Freeman,    - 

10  John  Fisher,   -    - 

11  John  Gant,   -    -     - 

12  Wm.  S.  Grames,  - 

13  John  Kane,  -    -    - 

14  Isaac  Lane,     -- 

15  Donold  McKenzie, 

16  George  McGregor, 

17  Ezekie!  Napton,    - 

18  Hiram  Persons,   - 

19  William  Pix,     -    - 

20  William  Thompson, 

21  Marvin  R.  Wade, 

22  Edward  Weever, 

DISCHARGED  : 

i  Sinclair  Cree,    -    - 


, 

June  26,  '35,       Utica,        3 

it  May   7,  '34,       Utica.        3 

11  May  n,  '35,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

n  April  23,  "34,  Rochester,    3  On  extra  duty  as  Teamster,  by 

n  Sept  22,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  [order  of  Capt.  Denny. 

M  Dec.    5,   '36,     n      _  n          3 

n  May  6,   '34,      Utica,        3 

ir  June   9,  '35,     Albany,      3 

n  Dec.   8,   '35,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

ir  Oct.  22,  '36,     it        u          3  [by  order  of  Capt.  Denny. 

n  May  n,  '35,     it        n          3  On  extra  duty  Hospital  Steward, 

it  April  26,  '34,     Albany.      3 

,,  July   i,    '35,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  f°^dlo?ackin°rsbem  Sg*5 

,.  July   6,     36      „         ..          3l  JsTpaid  for  apprehX  'in  confinement 

n  Feb.    5,     33,  Sacket  s  H.,  5  (.at  Fort  Mackinac. 

»  April  10,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  On  extra  duty  as  Teamster,  by 

it  Feb.   19,  '33,  Rochester,   5  [order  of  Capt.  Denny. 

n  July  25,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

n  Jan.  20,  "36,     it        n         3 

it  May  9,   "34,  Rochester,    3 

it  July  13,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n.  3 

Pvt,  Oct.   20,  '33,  White  Hall,  3  Term  of  enlistment  expired. 


DESERTED  : 

1  Henry  Stark,  -     -      Corpl.,  March  i,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  July  17,  '36,  from  Ft.  Dearborn. 

2  Lorin  Bingham,     -     Pvt,     June  22,  '35,       Utica,        3  Aug.  25,  '36,     it        u          n 

3  James  Clark,  -    -  °  -------  " 

4  John  G.  Doherty, 

5  Lorenzo  Downing, 

6  Hiram  Lyon,    -     - 

7  Franklin  Mills,    - 


8  John  Shehan,    -    - 

9  Thomas  Cassidy. 

o  Donold  McKenzie, 


June  23.  "35,       Utica,        3  Aug.  2,  '36,       n 
Feb.  ii,  '33,  Sacket's  H.,  5  Aug.  28,  '36,     <> 
•j  ^.u»»u.u  XUI.JL».<.U~I<.,        ..        July   6,    '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Sept.  22,  '36,    it 

1  John  Bryson,    -     -    Corpl.,  June  10,  '35,  Rochester,    3  Oct.  6,  '36, 

2  James  Youngs,    -       Pvt,     June  24,  '35,      Albany,      3  Oct.  16,  '36, 

3  James  A.  Lynch,  -        it 

4  Alvarado  Burt,    -      Mv 

5  Peter  Shepperd,     -     Pvt. 

6  Thomas  Brady,  - 

7  George  Gardner,   - 

8  William  Brady,    - 

9  David  H.  Pierson, 

RESIGNED  : 

i  T.  Stockton,   -    - 


June  17,  '35,  Rochester,    3  Dec.  25,  '36,     n 
it        Oct.  21,  '36,  Ft  Dearb'n,  3  Dec.  26,  '36,     it 

2d-Lt,  July    i,   '34,       [Del.]        -  Resigned,  Oct.  31,  i£ 


RECAPITULATION: — Present,  fit  for  duty,  26;  on  extra  duty,  3.  Absent  on  detached  ser- 
vice, i:  in  confinement,  i.  Total,  37.  Alterations  since  last  muster:  enlisted  in  12;  trans- 
ferred, i;  desertion,  i:  total,  14.  Discharged  by  expiration  of  service,  2;  deserted,  19. 

[Certificates  signed  by]  ST.  CLAIR  DENNY,  Captain  sth  Infantry. 

[Dated  at]  Camp  Brady,  Wisconsin  Terr'y,  Dec.  31,  '36.  Received  at  A.-G.  O.,  Feb.  25,  '37. 

Left  Ft.  Dearb'n,  Chicago,  111.,  on  Dec.  29,  '36,  and  arr'd  at  C'p  Brady,  W.  T.,  Dec.  30,  '36. 


APPENDIX — ADDITIONAL   EARLY   RECORDS. 


Semi-Annual  Muster-Roll  of  Capt.  and  Bvt.-Maj.  Wilcox's  Company,  ("  B,") 
of  the  Fifth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Army  of  the  United  States,  (Col.  Bvt. 
Brig. -Gen.  George  M.  Brooke,)  from  June  30,  1836,  when  last  mustered, 
to  Dec.  31,  1836. 


NO.  NAMES.  RANK 

1  D.  Wilcox,  Capt.  &  Bt.  Mj.  April  i, 

2  J.  H.  Whipple,      -   2d-Lt.,  Oct.  31,  '36, 


REMARKS. 

-  On  Detached  Serivce,  Recruting. 

-  At  Fort  Winnebago,  not  having 

[joined  since  promotion. 


[Mass.] 

1  Dudley  Johnson,  Or.  Serg.,  Aug.  17,  '34,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

2  Conrad  Schopfer,  -   Sergt,  Feb.  23,  '33,      Buffalo,      5 

3  Hiram  Bogert,     -          «         May  9,   '35,  Rochester,     3  Promoted  to  Sergt.,  Nov.  21, '36. 

1  Arnold  Reynolds,-   Corpl.,  April  18,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n.  3  Des'd  15,  app'd  Aug.  20/36,  pard. 

2  Richard  Vennor,  u        June  27,  '35,     Albany,      3  Appointed  Corpl.,  Nov.  21,  '36. 
Henry  I.  Ostrom,       Mus.,    Aug.  29,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

Priv'te,  Dec.    7,  '36,     ir        n  3 

i'        Oct.    3,   '36,     ir        u          3  Reenlisted,  Oct.  3,  1836. 

"         May  29,  '35,  Rochester,    3 

"        April  12,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

»        June  30,  '35,     Albany,      3 

'i         May  25,  '35,.  u  3  Left  sick  at  Chicago. 

i.        Sept.  28,  '36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Reenlisted,  Sept.  28,  1836. 

"        June  29,  'y,  Philadelp'a,  5 

Dec.  24,  '36,  Ft  Dearb'n,  3 

Dec.  28,  '3s,     ii        ti          3 

June  24,  '35,    Syracuse,     3 

Nov.   13,  36,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3 

Feb.   12,  '35,  New  York,    3 


1  Edward  Burrows, 

2  William  Bell,    - 

3  Luke  Brennan, 

4  Michael  Enghart, 

5  John  Foss,       -    - 

6  Samuel  Granger,  - 

7  John  Guy,  -     -     - 

8  Peter  Johnson,  -    - 

9  John  King,      -     - 
10  John  B.  LaFontine, 
u  John  F.  Mapes,   - 

12  Wesley  B.  Porter, 

13  William  Reed,     - 

14  John  Summers, 

15  John  Smith,     -     - 

1 6  Peter  Sang,  -     -    - 

17  Robert  Wi  liston, 

TRANSFERRED : 

i  A.  H.  Tappen,  Bvt  2d-Lt.,  July   i,   '35, 


June  27,  '35, 
May  i,  34, 
June  18,  '35, 
Dec.  28,  '32, 


Albany, 
Utica, 
Albany, 
Buffalo, 


[joined  since  transfer. 
3  At  Fort  Winnebago,  not  having 

["E,"  at  Ft.  Winnebago. 
-  Prom'd  and  transfd  to  Company 

<«  T?    >» 


2  L.  T.  Jamison,     -     ist-Lt  ,  April  30,  '36,    [Virginia.]     -  Prom'd  to  Capt.  of  Comp'y  "F." 

3  J.  L.  Thompson,   -   2d-Lt.,  July    i,    '28,  [Tennessee,]  -  Prom'd  to  ist-Lt.  of  Comp'y  "F." 

4  Joseph  Adams,   Or.  Sergt.,  May   i,   '34,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Left  at  Chicago. 

DISCHARGED  : 

i  Robert  Lingard,    -  Priv'te,  Aug.  14,  '33.    Chicago,       3  Term  expired,  Aug.  14,  1*36. 


Oct.   10,  '33,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3        u  »      Oct.  10,  183*. 

Oct.  23,  '33,     »        u          3        u  '•      Oct.  23,  1836. 

11        Oct.  30,  '33,  New  York,    3        ••  »      Oct.  30,  1836. 

•i        Oct.  20,  '56,  Ft  Dearb'n,  3  Disch'g'd,  Nov.  29,  '36;  Disable, 
u        Dec.  28,  '33,     Chicago,      3  Term  expired,  Dec.  28,  1836. 

Priv'te,  April  25,  '34,  Rochester,  3  July  18,  ^36,  from  Ft.  Dearborn, 

»        July    i,    '35,  Rochester,  3  July  22,  '36,     u        u          u 

11        Feb.  17,  '33,      Buffalo,  5  July  25,  '36,     n        »          11 

u        June   6,  '35,       Utica,  3  July  26,  '36,     u        »          n 

u        June  16,  '35,  Rochester,  3   July  30,  '36,     i»        n          H 

April  2q,  '34,      Albany,  3  Aug.  6,  '36, 


2  William  Bell,  -    - 

3  John  Guy,    -    - 

4  Antonie  Ritchner, 

5  Hugh  Livingston, 

6  William  Adams,    - 

DESERTED : 

1  Robert  Rand,  -    - 

2  Moulton  Bartlett,  - 

3  Otto  Miller,     -    - 

4  Rich.  YanYraukin, 

5  George  B.  Mack, 

6  William  Tripp.  -    - 

7  Arnold  Reynolds,      Corpl.,  April  18,  "3^,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Aug.  15,  '36,    u 

8  David  Sherman,    -  Priv'te,  April  17.  '34,  Rochester,    3  Aug.  30,  '3^,    >• 

9  Daniel  W.  Johnson,  Corpl ,  June   6,  '35,  u  3  Oct.  6,  '3^, 

0  John  P.  Bennett,      Priv'te,  June   2,   '35,  "  3  Oct.  12,  '36, 

1  Martin  Redding,  -        •>        June  16,  '35,      Albany.       3  Occ.  12,  '36, 

2  Thomas  D.  Yault,          n         May   8,    '36,  Ft  Dearb'n,  3  Nov.  17,  '36, 

3  Palmer  Robinson.      Mus.,    May  25,  '35,    Syracuse,      3  Dec.  15,  '36, 

4  Joseph.  C.  M.  Cole.Priv'te,  June  27,  '35,  R  >che^ter,     3  Dec.  15,  '36, 

5  Horace  H.  Wheeler,       i         April  18,  '35,  ••  3  Dec.  15,  '36, 

6  Horatio  PeeHe,      -        i          Sei  t.  12,  '3^,  Ft.  Dearb'n,  3  Dec.  19,  '36, 

7  Patrick  McMullen,        i         June  10,  '35.  Baltimore.     3  Dec.  21,  '36, 

8  Patrick  Welch,      -        i         April  2.  '35,  Freder'kt'n,  3  Dec.  25.  '36, 

9  Richard  Parker,  -          i          May  16.  '34,       Utica,         3  Dec   27,  '36,     it        u          it 
RECAPITULATION  : — Present  for  duty,  21;  absent  on  detached  service,  3;  sick,  i;  Total,  25. 

Alterations  since  la-t  muster:  recruits  from  depots.  7;  reenlisted,  2;  by  transfer,   i;  deser- 
tion, i;  total,  u.     Discharged.  6:  transferred.  5:  deserted,  19. 

[C'tifs  signed  by]  J.  H.  WHIPPLE,  Lt.  Com'd'g  Co.,  [andj  ST.CLAIR  DENNY,  Capt.  sth  Infy. 

[Dated  at]     Camp  Brady,  Wisconsin  Terr'y,  Dec.  31,  1836. 

Left  Ft.  Dearb'n,  Chicago,  111 ,  Dec.  29,  '36,  and  arr'd  at  Camp  Brady,  W.  T.,  Dec.  30,  '36. 


APPENDIX  —  FORT  DEARBORN,  ETC. 


XlttraiTsii:J7Y«2 


"11135  I  i|i6^1|f^£j  *TCS|1*  sills 

3z?=a  f  ji4J<££tif^ilH»lH&J.KM  1^1.11^ 


94  FORT   DEARBORN. 

CHICAGO'S  EARLY  HARBOR. 

MENOMINEE,  MICH.,  April  13,  1881.      ; 

This  morning,  I  saw  a  notice  of  the  death  of  David  McKee  and 
Mark  Beaubien.  My  mind  is  carried  back  to  the  time  when  my 
brother,  wife,  and  two  children,  on  the  second  day  of  October, 
1836,  landed  off  the  little  topsail  -  schooner  White  Pigeon,  on 
about  one  hundred  feet  of  dock — all  there  was  at  that  time. 
Then  young,  but  now  an  old  man  in  my  73d  year,  it  scarcely 
seems  possible,  yet  all  the  little  incidents  and  occurrences  of  that 
time  are  fresh  in  my  mind.  In  Lake  Huron  our  little  craft  was 
cast  on  her  beam-ends  in  a  terrible  squall,  but,  after  half  an  hour, 
righted,  and  managed  to  get  into  Presque  Isle,  ninety  miles  below 
Mackinaw,  where  we  found  six  other  schooners.  The  wind  finally 
lulled  and  hauled  round  in  the  east,  and  we  all  came  out  and  had 
a  splendid  run  through  the  Straits,  and  up  to  the  Manitous,  when 
the  wind  hauled  around  to  the  northwest  and  gave  us  "Hail 
Columbia."  We  were  three  or  four  days  in  making  the  west 
shore,  and  then  under  close-reefed  sails  ran  up  to  Chicago  to 
find  that  we  could  not  get  into  the  harbor.  They  had  got  it 
dredged  across  the  breadth  of  the  peninsula,  and  timbers  in 
sufficient  to  let  small  vessels  through,  but  the  terrible  storm  had 
torn  up  the  timbers  to  such  an  extent,  as  to  obstruct  the  passage 
entirely,  and  we  were  obliged  to  lie  off  till  the  obstruction  was 
removed,  when  our  schooner  was  warped  in,  but  not  one  of  the 
other  six  vessels  got  in.  Two  of  them  lost  their  masts  and  drove 
across  the  lake  and  beached.  Two  others,  the  Erie  and  Cedes, 
beached  about  three  miles  above  the  harbor.  The  Martin  Van 
Buren  attempted  to  enter  the  harbor,  but  the  Wm.  Henry  Harrison, 
a  larger  vessel,  coming  in  close  behind,  struck  her  in  the  stern, 
breaking  a  hole  in  her,  when  she  sank,  while  the  Harrison 
bounded  off  and  glided  around  the  pier  and  sunk  on  the  south 
side.  Many  thought  at  the  time  it  was  portentious,  and  it  looked 
something  like  it,  as  Gen.  Harrison,  in  the  pending  presidential 
election,  succeeded  over  Van  Buren,  and  then  died  in  thirty  days. 
After  the  election  of  1 840  it  was  often  spoken  of.  There  was  an 
immense  quantity  of  dry-goods  spoiled,  or  nearly  so;  the  prairie 
was  covered  with  prints,  the  house-tops  with  cloths  and  finer  goods, 
and  all  were  sold  at  auction  that  could  be,  and  it  was  gay  times 
and  money  was  plenty.  But  before  next  spring  the  whole  scene 
changed,  and  what  a  change !  Wild-cat  Banks  first  showed  their 
eyes,  then  their  claws,  and  then  their  teeth,  and  the  crash  came. 

I  really  thought  I  would  write  an  article,  but  being  old  and  not 
very  well  I  shall  have  to  give  it  up,  as  it  will  be  too  long.  At 
some  future  time,  if  I  am  well,  I  will  give  you  a  little  touch  of 
early  times  and  scenes.  [Died  May  18,  1881.]  THOMAS  Q.  GAGE. 


INDEX 


Abbott,  Dr.  Lucius,  16. 

Ackerman,  William  K.,  5. 

Adair,  John,  21. 

Adams,  George,  88. 

Adams,  Henry,  70. 

Adams,  Joseph,  32,  36,  70,  71,  91. 

Adams,  Ralph,  70. 

Adams,  William,  91. 

Adams,  William  H.,  65. 

Adams,  Sybel,  14. 

Adams,  Sarah  H. ,  married  Dr.  Allen 

W.  Gray,  70. 
Ah-mah- quau -zah-quuah,    or  Mary 

Wells,  45,  46. 
Ah-pez-zah-quah,  or  Ann  Wells,  45, 

46.  • 

Allen,  B.  F.,  33. 
Allen,  James,  33-6,  38,  48,  71. 
Allen,  John,  88. 
Ament,  Anson,  66,  79. 
Ament,  Calvin,  66,  79. 
Ament,  Edward,  79. 
Ament,  Hiram,  79. 
Ament,  John,  79. 
Ament,  John,  jr.,  79. 
Ament,  Justus,  79. 
Anderson,  Capt.  Thomas,  55,  57. 
Andrews,  Presley,  18,  88. 
Anthony  Wayne  (steamboat),  75. 
Appleby,  Capt.  Oilman,  84. 
Archer,  Robert  H.,  69. 
Armstrong,  Wm.  R.,  90. 
Arnold,  Isaac  N.,  3-6,  8,  23,  93. 
Ashbrook,  Thomas,  88. 
Atwater,  Major,  50. 
Ayer,  Benjamin  F.,  5. 
Aylward,  John,  90. 

B. 

Bailey,  Daniel,  64. 
Bailey,  Jacob  W.,  69. 
Bailey,  Esther,  12. 


Baker,  Daniel,  23,  47. 

Barber,  William,  66. 

Barclay,  Capt.,  61. 

Barr,  Mrs.  Robert,  93. 

Barry,  David,  90. 

Bartlett,  Moulton,  91. 

Bates,  George  C.,  26. 

Bates,  John,  4. 

Bates,  Kinzie,  26. 

Bauer,  Lawrence,  4. 

Baxley,  Joseph,  35,  48. 

Beach,  John,  69. 

Beach,  Samuel  S.,  5.       /a 

BeMd,  Henry  S.,  24. 

Beaed,  Mrs.  Henry  S.,  24. 

Beaubien,  Alexander,   5,  21,  26, 

79- 

Beaubien,  Charles,  44,  79. 
Beaubien,  David,  5. 
Beaubien,  Edward,  5. 
Beaubien,  Frank,  5. 
Beaubien,  Frank  Gordon,  5,  79. 
Beaubien,  George,  5. 
Beaubien,  Henry,  5. 
Beaubien,  Isadore,  5. 
Beaubien,  Gen.  John  B.,  5,    12, 

21,  24,  33,  38-42,  44,  55,  68, 

79,  85,  86. 
Beaubien,  John,  5. 
Beaubien,  Josette  (Lafromboise). 
Beaubien,  Maurice  D.  P.,  5. 
Beaubien,  Mark,  5,    15,  34,  42, 

55,  66,  67,  68,  76,  77.  79,  94. 
Beaubien,  Mark,  jr.,  55. 
Beaubien,  Medore  B.,  21,  23,  24, 
Beaubien,  Philip,  5. 
Beaubien,  Saliston,  5. 
Beaubien,  Slidell,   5. 
Beaubien,  Therese  (Lafromboise) 

(Watkins),  24. 
Beaubien,  William  R.,  5. 
Beaubien,  William  S.,  5. 
Beauregard,  Gen.  P.  G.  T.,  62. 
Beebe,  Horatio,  91. 


27, 


15, 
71, 


24. 
44, 

68. 


96  INDEX. 

Beeson,  J.  S.  W.,  25. 

Bell,  William,  91. 

Bender,  George,  34,  35,  48. 

Benham,  Henry  W.,  24. 

Bennett,  John  P.,  91. 

Bennett,  Reuben  J.,  4. 

Bennett,  Robert  J.,  3,  4,  5,  6. 

Berry,  Redmond,  88. 

Best,  William,  88. 

Bishop,  Levi,  84. 

Bingham,   Lorin,  90. 

Black  Bird  (Indian  chief),  52. 

Black  Hawk  (Indian  chief),   12,  31, 

34,  37,  55,  65,  72,  73- 
Black,  Henry  M.,  82. 
Black  Snake,  or  Capt.  William 

Wells,  45. 

Blake,  Capt.  Chelsey,  75,  84,  85. 
Blanchard,  Rums,  17. 
Blodgett,  Judge  Henry  W.,  66. 
Blodgett,  I.  P.,  66. 
Boardman,  George  E.,  93. 
Bogert,  Hiram  V.,  91. 
Bomford,  James  V.,  69. 
Bond,  Ezra,  65. 
Bond,  Heman  S.,  65. 
Bond,  William,  65. 
Boone,  Dr.  Levi  D.,  39. 
Bouche,  Henry,  65. 
Bouche,  Joseph,  25. 
Bousha,  or  Bouche,  Henry,  65. 
Bowen,  James  (or  Joseph),  17,  53. 
Bowman,  James  M.,  69. 
Brackett,  John  E.,  69. 
Brady,  Gen.  Hugh,  35,  71. 
Brady,  Thomas,  90. 
Brady,  \Vi!liam,  90. 
Bradley,  Hezekiah,  22,  23,  47. 
Bradley,  H.,  73. 
Brand,  Alexander,  93. 
Brennan,  Luke,  91. 
Brewster,   Hogan  &  Co.  (firm),  25. 
Brewster,  Theron  D.,  77. 
Brice,  Wallace  A.,  17. 
Bristol,  Robert  C.,  72,  75. 
Bristol  &  Porter  (firm),  76. 
Brock,  Gen.  Isaac,  15,  59. 
Bronson,  Arthur,  93. 
Brooke,  George  M.,  90,  91. 
Brooks,  Samuel,  85. 
Bross,  William,  4,  67. 
Brown,  Adam,  61. 
Brown,  Henry,  17,  93. 
Brown,  Gen.  Jacob,  27,  47. 
Brown,  Jacob,  69. 


Brown,  Jesse  B.,  65. 

Brown,  Rufus,  65. 

Brown,  Thomas,  90. 

Brown,  Hon.  William  H.,  93. 

Brush,  Alfred,  69. 

Bryson,  John,  90. 

Buchanan,  Pres.  James,  44. 

Buckner,  Simon  B.,  32. 

Bunker  Hill  (steamboat),  75. 

Burchard,  Mathew,  39,  40,  42. 

Burgoyne,  Gen.  John,  14,  44. 

Burk,  Patrick,  88. 

Burley,  Arthur  G.,  5. 

Burnam, ,  18. 

Burnes,  Thomas,  88. 

Burnett,  Ward  Benjamin,  38,  69. 

Burnett,  George,  18,  88. 

Burnham,  —     — ,  74. 

Burrows,  Edward,  91. 

Burt,  Alvarado,  90. 

Bushy,  Joseph,  25. 

Butterfield,  Justin,  93. 

Butterfield,  Lyman,  66. 
C. 

Caldwell,  Billy,  or  Sauganash  (  Ind- 
ian Chief),  25-28,  31,  33,  60,  61, 
68,  93- 

Caldwellf  Susan,  28. 

Calhoun,  John,  25. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  22. 

Calumet  Club,  32,  44,  67,  68,  76,  77, 

78,  79- 

Cambell,  Asa,  88. 

Campbell,  Alajor  James  B. ,  93. 

Carey  Mission,  25. 

Carpenter,  Philo,  33. 

Carpenter,  Nathaniel,  90. 

Carter,  Thomas  B.,  5. 

Cass,  George  W.,  69. 

Cass,  Gen.  Lewis,  58,  59,  60,  71. 

Cassidy,  Thomas,  90. 

Caton,  John  Dean,  22,  67,  70. 

Cedes  (schooner),  94. 

Chamberlain,  Dr.,  74. 

Chamblee,  or  Shabonee  (Indian  ch'f), 
27,  28,  31,  33,  58,  60,  61. 

Chandonais,  Jean  Baptiste  ( Indian 
chief),  19,  20. 

Chapman,  James,  88. 

Che-che-pin-gua,  or  Alexander  Rob- 
inson (Indian  chief),  26-8,  31,  33, 
41. 

Chetlain,  A.  L.,  5,  15. 

Clark,  Denis,  66. 

Clark,  James,  88. 


INDEX. 


97 


Clark,  James,  90. 

Clark,  John  M.,  57. 

Clark,  Mrs.  Robert,  57. 

Clark,  Silas,  88. 

Clark,  Gen.  William,  49,  50. 

Clary,  Thorndike,  90. 

Clay,  Henry,  84. 

Cleaver,  Charles,  85. 

Clegg,  Richard,  90. 

Clemons,  James  M.,  90. 

Clybourn,  Archibald,  77. 

Cocke,  Philip  St.  George,  69. 

Cole,  Josephus  C.  M.,  91. 

Collins,  James  H.,  40,  41. 

Collinsworth,  John  T.,  33,  48. 

Columbus  (steamboat),  75. 

Commodore  Perry  (steamboat),  84. 

Conrad,  Charles  M.,  41. 

Cooper,  Isabella,  56. 

Cooper,  John,  18,  55,  56,  88. 

Corbin,  Fielding  [or  Phelim],  18,  53, 

88. 

Corbin,  James,  18,  53,  88. 
Corbin,  Phelim  [or  Fielding],  18,  53, 

88. 

Corbin,  Mrs.  Phelim,  18,  53. 
Corinthian  Lodge  (Free  Mason),  14. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  44. 
Couch,  James,  4. 
Cree,  Sinclair,  90. 
Crittenden,  George  B.,  69. 
Crittenden,  John  J. ,  84. 
Croghan,  George,  58. 
Crosby,  Charles,  5. 
Crozier,  John,  88. 
Cummings,   Alexander,   23,    30,    47, 

49- 
Currin,  John,  25. 

D. 

Daniel  Webster  (steamboat),  75. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  28,  29. 

Day,  Hannibal,  32,  48. 

Dean,  John,  27,  41,  86. 

Dearborn,  Gen.  Henry,  9,  10,  14,  22, 

59- 

Dearborn,  Gen.  Henry  A.  S.,  IO. 
Dearborn,  Henry  G.  R.,  10. 
Deas,  Edward,  69. 
Debaif,  Samuel,  65. 
De  Camp,  Dr.  Samuel  G.  I.,  30,  31, 

48,  49. 

Denison,  Michijah,  18,  88. 
Denny,  St.  Clair,  35,  48,  90,  91. 
Dewey,  George,  80. 


Dix,  Robert  S.,  69. 

Dodge,  John  C.,  93. 

Doe,  John,  71. 

Dole,  George  W.,  25,  64,  93. 

Doherty,  John  G.,  90. 

Donoly,  Hugh,  90. 

Dorr,  -        —  (Master  of  Schooner 

Tracy),  13. 

Doryherty,  Daniel,  88. 
Douglas,  Charles,  44. 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  23,  77. 
Downing,  Lorenzo,  90. 
Downs,  Oscar,  5. 
Doyle,  Alexander,  26. 
Drake,  Samuel  G.,  82. 
Draper,  Stephen,  88. 
Dulanty,  Michael,  4. 
Dyer,  C.  H.,  93. 
Dyer,  Dyson,  18,  53,  88. 
Dyer,  Thomas,  93. 

E. 

Eastman,  Lieut.  J.  L.,  50. 
Eastman,  Jonathan,  89. 
Edson,  Nathan,  17,  53,  88. 
Edwards,  Aaron,  59. 
Edwards,  Dr.  Abraham,  55-60. 
Edwards,  Albert  G.,  69. 
Edwards,  A.  H.,  55-60. 
Edwards,  Mrs.  Maria  (Heald),  15. 
Edwards,  Mrs.  Ruthy  (Hunt),  59. 
Edwards,  T.  'A.  H.,  55,  57. 
Egan,  Dr.  William  B.,  93. 
Ellis,  Samuel,  65. 
Ellis  &  Fergus  (firm),  17. 
Enghart,  Michael,  91. 
Engle,  James,  30,  48. 
Engle,  Mrs.  James,  30. 
Erie  (schooner),  94. 
Ewell,  Benjamin  S.,  69. 

F. 

Fair,  Richard  G.,  69. 

Farley,  Benjamin,  89. 

Farnum,  Mrs.  Isabella  (Cooper),  56. 

Fearson,  John,  13. 

Fearson,  Julia,  13. 

Fearson,  Mary  (LaDake),  13. 

Fergus,  Robert,  17,  57,  58. 

Findly,  James,  59. 

Finley,  Clement  A.,  30,  48. 

Fisher,  John,  90. 

Ford,  Judge  Thomas,  39. 

Forth,  Thomas,  88. 


98 

Foss,  John,  91. 
Foster,  Amos,  30,  48. 
Foster,  Caleb,  66. 
Foster,  Dr.  John  H.,  30. 
Fowle,  John,  jr.,  30,  33,  48. 
Fox,  George,  66. 
Fox,  John,  66. 
Freeman,  Alvah,  90. 
Fuller,  Henry,  43,  44. 
Furman,  John  G.,  30,  48. 
Fury,  John,  1 8,  88. 

G. 

Gage,  S.  T.,  65. 

Gage,  Thomas  Q.,  94. 

Galloway,  Andrew  J.,  4. 

Gant,  John,  90. 

Gardner,  C.  K.,  14,  20,  45. 

Gardner,  George,  90. 

Garner,  Richard,  88. 

Gatlin,  Richard  C.,  69. 

Gault,  William,  66. 

Gibson,  John  C.,  44. 

Giddings,  Josiah  H.,  66. 

Gilbert,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  (Wolcott), 

46. 

Gill,  Edmund,  93. 
Ginsday,  James,  65. 
Glass,  Joseph,  88. 
Goodrich,  Grant,  93. 
Gordon,  Mrs.  Nellie  (Kinzie),  23. 

Graham,  Col.  J.  D.,  93. 

Grames,  Wm,  S.,  90. 

Granger  Samuel,  91. 

Grant,  Gen.  Ulysses  S.,  82. 

Graves,  Dexter,  25. 

Gray,  Dr.  Allen  W.,  70. 

Gray,  John,  70. 

Gray,  Wm.  B.  H.,  5. 

Great  Western  (steamboat),  75,  76. 

Greene,  John,  23,  35,  47,  48- 

Greenough,  Charles  P.,  82. 

Griffin,  George  H.,  69. 

Griffith,  William,  87,  89. 

Griggs,  Mathew,  46. 

Griggs,  Samuel,  46. 

Gromet,  see  Grummon,  17,  18,  53. 

Grummo,  Paul,  17,  18,  53,  88. 

Grummon,  or  Grummond,  or  Grum 
mow,  or  Gromet,  Paul,  17,  18,  53 

Guy,  John,  91. 

H. 

Hackley,  Ann,  45. 


INDEX. 


Hackley,  John,  45. 
Hackley,  Rebecca  (Wells),  46. 
Hackley,  Capt.  --     — ,  45. 
Hackley,  Mrs.  Capt.  -     — ,  46. 
Hadduck,  Edward  H.,  25,  70. 
Hager,  Albert  D.,  4. 
Hagnar,  Peter,  89. 
Haines,  Elijah  M.,  4. 
Hall,  Eugene  J.,  5,  7. 
Hamilton,  Richard  J.,  64,  65. 
Hamilton,  John,  18,  88. 
Hamlin,  John,  26,  85. 
Hardin,  James  P.,  69. 
Harmar,  Gen.  Josiah,  45. 
Harmon,  Charles  L.,  81. 
Harmon,  Dr.  Elijah  Dewey,  25,  65, 
81. 

Harmon,  Isaac,  25,  65. 

Harmon,  Isaac  D.,  65,  Si. 

Harris,  Benjamin,  65. 

Harrison,  Carter  H.,  4,  82. 

Harrison,  Edmund,  66. 

Harrison,  Gen.  William  H.,  22,  28, 
44,  46,  5:>  57,  61,  82,  94. 

Hays,  Sergeant,  18. 

Hawley,  Perez,  66. 

Heald,  Darius,  5,  20-22. 

Heald,  Eliza,  15. 

Heald,  Jonas,  15. 

Heald,  Margaret,  20. 

Heald,  Maria,  15. 

Heald,  Mary,  20. 

Heald,  Nathan,  3,  14-6,  18-21,  45-7, 
50-1,  53-5,  57,  83,  87,  88,  89. 

Heald,  Mrs.  Rebekah  (Wells),  14,  1 6, 
18-20,  47,  53. 

Heald,  Mrs.  Sybel  (Adams),  14. 

Heald,  Thomas,  14. 

Heald,  Judge  Thomas,  15. 

Helm,  Charles  J.,  1 6. 

Helm,  Francis  T.,  16. 

Helm,  Linai  T,,  16,  52,  53. 

Helm,  Mrs.  Louise  (Whistler),  16. 
Helm,  Mrs.  Margaret  (McKillup),  16, 

Helm,  William  Edwin,  16. 
Helm,  William  Willis,  16. 
Henry  Clay  (steamboat),  37,  38,  72. 
Hernandez,  General  Joseph,  24. 
Herndon,  John  F.,  65. 
Hesler,  Alexander,  93. 
Hickling,  William,  27. 
Hill,  Thomas  M.,  69. 
Hilliard,  Maria  (vessel),  93. 
Hobson,  Basley,  66. 


INDEX. 


99 


Hogan,  John  S.  C.,  25,  64. 

H  olden,"  Charles  C.  P.,  5. 

Holt,  Sergeant,  1 8. 

Holt,  wife  of  Sergeant,  18. 

Hooke,  Moses,  n. 

Hotchkiss,  Miles,  26. 

Howell,  George,  76. 

Howell,  Lewis,  69. 

Hoyne,  Frank,  5. 

Hoyne,  Thomas,  3,  4,  6. 

Hoyt,  William  M.,  3,  5,  6. 

Hubbard,  Gurdon  S.,  4,  6,  31,  76,  83, 

85,  87,  93- 
Hull,   Gen.  William,   15,  18,  42,  51, 

53,  55,  59,  60,  67,  79,  89. 
Humphreys,  Gen.  A.  A.,  34,  36. 
Hunt,  Alexander,  59. 
Hunt,  Gen.  Henry  J.,  56,  59. 
Hunt,  Gen.  Lewis  C.,  56. 
Hunt,  Ruthy,  55,  59. 
Hunt,  Samuel  W.,  56. 
Hunt,  Thomas,  54,  56,  57,  59. 
Hunt,  Thomas,  jr.,  56,  57,  59. 
Hunt,  William  N.,  88. 
Hunter,  Gen.  David,  28,  30,  48,  93. 
Hurlbut,  H.  H.,  12. 

I. 

Illinois  (steamboat),  75,  84,  85. 
Irwin,  Mathew,  25,  49,  83. 
Irvine,  Mathew,  49. 

J- 

Jack,  John,  90. 

Jackson,  Pres.  Andrew,  38,  60,  63. 
Jackson,  John,  39. 
Jackson,  Samuel,  81. 
James  Allen  (steamboat),  34. 
"fames  Madison  (steamboat),  75. 
Jameson,  Judge  John  A.,  4. 
Jamison,  Lewis  T.,  33,  36,  48,  70, 

71,  9i- 

Jefferson,  Pres.  Thomas,  9,  59,  62. 
Jewett  or  Jouett,  Charles,  25,  85. 
Tocelyn  &  Chamberlin  (firm),  76. 
Johnson,  Daniel  W.,  91. 
Johnson,  Dudley,  91. 
Johnson,  Harriet,  32. 
Johnson,  Peter,  91. 
Johnson,  Richard  M.,  58. 
Johnson,  Seth,  32,  37,  48,  74. 
Johnston,  John,  49,  82,  83. 
Johnston,  Mrs.  John,  83. 

7 


Jones,  Rhodias,  88. 
Jones,  Gen.  Roger,  47,  49. 
Jordon,  Walter,  50,  51. 
Jouett,  Charles,  25,  85. 
Joy,  James  F.,  42. 

K. 

Kane,  Elias  K.,  26. 
Kane,  John,  90. 

Keamble,  ,  18. 

Kello,  William  O.,  69. 
Kelso,  John,  88. 
Kenney,  T.  B.,  35. 
Kennison,  David,  88. 
Kerchival,  Gholson,  25,  64. 
Keyes,  Erasmus  D.,  69. 
Kilpatrick,  Samuel,  88. 
Kimball,  Mark,  5. 
Kimball,  Walter,  4. 

Kimball,  ,  18. 

Kimberly,  Dr.  Edmund  S.,  93. 
King,  John,  91. 
King,  Sherman,  66. 
King,  W.  H.,  5. 
King,  Vicc-Pres.  William  R.,  60. 
Kingsbury,  Gaines  P.,  69. 
Kingsbury,  Jacob,  88. 
Kingsbury,  Julius  J.  B.,  32,  48. 
Kinzie,  Mrs.  Eleanor  (McKillup),  26, 

S3- 

Kinzie,  Ellen  M.,  26,  54. 
Kinzie,  James,  65,  71. 
Kinzie,  John,  16,  21,  25,  26,  30,  54, 

83,  85,  86. 
Kinzie,  John  H.,  10,  II,  16,  17,  23, 

54,  85,  93- 

Kinzie,  Mrs.  Juliette  A.,  n,  14,  17, 

27,  50.  85,  86,  93. 
Kinzie,  Mrs.  Louise  (Whistler),  16. 
Kinzie,  Maria  H.,  30,  54. 
Kinzie,  Nellie  (Gordon),  23. 
Kinzie,  Robert  A.,      12,  1 6,  25,  54, 

55.  67,  93- 

Kinzie,  Mrs.  Robert  A.,  12,  16. 
Kinzie  &  Hunter  (firm),  76,  93. 
Kirk  &  Co.,  James  S.  (firm),  86. 
Klokke,  E.  F.  C.,  4. 
Knapp,  H.  S.,  17,  57. 
Knickerbocker,  A.  V.,  34. 
Knowles,  Joseph  [or  Noles],  17,  53. 
88. 

L. 

Labaque,  Francis,  65. 


IOO 


INDEX. 


LaDake,  Mary,  13. 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  56. 
LaFontine,  John  B.,  91. 
Lafromboise,  Claude,  24,  65. 
Lafromboise,  Francis,  24. 
Lafromboise,  Francis,  jr.,  24. 
Lafromboise,  Joseph,  sen.,  24. 
Lafromboise,  Joseph,  24,  65. 
Lafromboise,  Josette,  married  Benj. 

K.  Pierce,  24. 
Lafromboise,  Josette,  married  John 

B.  Beaubien,  24. 
Lafromboise,  Madeline  (Marcotte), 

24. 
Lafromboise,  Therese  ( Schindler), 

24. 

Lafromboise,  Therese  (Watkins),  24. 
Lalime,  J.,  82,  83. /M 
Landon  N.,  4. 
Lane,  Isaac,  90. 
Lane,  James,  4. 
Langdon,  Daniel,  66. 
Larrabee,  C.  Rolin,  93. 
Larrabee,  Wm.  M.,  93. 
Lasby,  Samuel  C.,  44,  80. 
Latta,  James,  88. 
Laudon,  Jacob,  88. 
Leavenworth,  Gen.  Henry,  70. 
Leavenworth,  Jesse  H.,  36,  78. 
Leavenworth,  Mrs.  Jesse  H.,  36. 
Le  Clerc,  Peresh,  26. 

Lee,  or  See, ,  5°- 

Leonard  Michael,  88. 

LeMoyne,  John  V.,  93. 

Lincoln,  Pres.  Abraham,  29. 

Lincoln,  Robert  T.,  87. 

Lindsley,  A.  B.,  26. 

Lingard,  Robert,  91. 

Little  Turtle,  or  Me-che-kau-nah-qua 

(Indian  chief),  45,  46,  54,  82. 
Livingston,  Eliza  Matilda,  36,  81. 
Livingston,  Hugh,  91. 
Livingston,  Peter  William,  81. 
Locker,  Frederick,  18,  88. 
Logan, -Hugh,  18,  53,  88. 
Long,  Edwin  R.,  33,  48. 
Long,  James,  44. 
Lossing,  Benson  J. ,  17. 
Lovell,  Mansfield,  36. 
Loy,  Andrew,  88. 
Lynch,  James  A.,  90. 
Lynch,  Michael,  18,  88. 
Lyon,  Hiram,  90. 
Lyon,  Nathaniel,  82. 


M. 

Mabury,  James,  88. 

Mack,  George  B.,  91. 

Macomb,  Gen.  Alexander,  27,  30,  35, 

47,  49- 

Macomb,  John  M.,  37,  69. 

Madison,  Pres.  James,  46,  59,  62. 

Magie,  Haines  H.,  93. 

Mainpoe  (Indian  chief),  82. 

Mapes,  John  F.,  91. 

Manning,  John,  66. 

Marcotte,  Jean  Baptiste,  24. 

Marcotte,  Madeline,  24. 

Marcy,  Randolph  B. ,  69. 

Marfitt,  -         — ,  1 8. 

Maria  Hilliard  (vessel),  93. 

Martin  Van  Buren  (schooner),  94. 

Marquette,  Jacques,  6. 

Marshall,  Humphrey,  31,  69. 

Marshall,  James  A.,  77. 

Mathews,  Elizabeth,  68,  79. 

Mathews,  George,  68,  79. 

Maxwell,  Dr.  Philip,  31,  32,  48. 

McArthur,  Gen.  Duncan,  59. 

McBride,  —         — ,  17. 

McCarty,  Duncan,  88. 

McCausland,  David,  20. 

McCausland,  Mrs.  Mary  (Heakl),  20. 

McChesney,  —         — ,  5. 

McClellan,  John,  36. 

McClellan,  Robert,  36. 

McClure,  Gen.  George  W.,  33. 

McClure,  Airs.  Harriet  (Johnson),  32. 

McClure,  Josiah  E.,  32. 

McConnell,  Murray,  39. 

McCoy,  Rev.  Mr.,  46. 

McDuffie,  Franklin,  31,  69. 

McFadyen,  Capt.  John,  75. 

McGowan,  Patrick,  88. 

McGregor,  George,  90. 

McKee,  David,  25,  64,  65,  68,  94. 

McKeever,  Chauncey,  49. 

McKillup,  Eleanor,  26. 

McKillup,  Margaret,   16. 

McKillup,  Capt.  —     — ,  16. 

McKenzie,  Donold,  90. 

McMullen,  Patrick,  91. 

McNeil,  Gen.  John,  23,  24,  47. 

McNeil,  J.  W.  S.,  24. 

McPherson,  Hugh,  18,  88. 

Meacham,  Silas,  44. 

Me-che-kau-nah-qua,  or  Little  Tur- 
tle (Indian  chief),  45,  46,  54,  82. 


INDEX. 


IOI 


Michigan  (steamboat),  75,  84. 

Miller,  Gen.  James,  59. 

Miller,  Otto,  91. 

Miller,  Peter,  88. 

Miller,  Ralph,  88. 

Miller,  Samuel,  65. 

Milliken,  Isaac  L. ,  5. 

Mills,  Elias,  17,  18,  53. 

Mills,  -     — ,  18. 

Mills,  Franklin,  90. 

Miranda,  Victoria,  25. 

Moffitt,  William,  88. 

Monroe,  Pres.  James,  22,  60. 

Monroe  (steamboat),  75. 

Morfit,  -     — ,  1 8. 

Mooris,  H.  V.,  76. 

Mortt,  August  [or  Motte],  18,  53,  88. 

Moselle,  Charles,  65. 

Motte,  August  [or  Mortt],  18,  53  88. 

Moyan,  John,  88. 

Murray,  Robert  N.,  66. 

N. 

Naper,  John,  66. 

Naper,  Joseph,  65,  66. 

Napton,  Ezekiel,  90. 

Nash,  Frederick  A.,  77. 

Neads,  John  [or  Needs],  18,  53,  88. 

Nelson,  ,  18,  53. 

Newberry,  Oliver,  73,  75,  85. 
Newberry  Walter  L.,  85. 
Newberry  &  Dole  (firm),  76,  93. 
Newby,  E.  W.  B.,  35. 
Newcastle,  Duke  of,  29. 

Nevvhall,  Capt. ,  84. 

Nichols,  Luther,  31. 

Noles,  Joseph  [or  Knowles],  17,  53, 

88. 

North  American  (steamboat),  84. 
Nourse,  Charles  J.,  47. 

O. 

O'Connell,  Daniel,  90. 

O'Fallon,  John,  20. 

Ogden,  William  B.,  76,  85. 

Ogilvie,  P.  H.,  76,  77. 

Ogee,  Mrs.  Sophia  (Beaubien),  44, 

79- 
"Old  Tempest,"  i.e.,  Anthony 

Wayne,  28,  61. 
Ostrom,  Henry  J.,  91. 
Osborn,  James  T.,  65. 
O'Strander,  Philip,  88. 
Ouilmette,  <?r  Wilmette,  Michael,  65. 


Owen,  Thomas  J.  V.,  25,  26,  64,  93. 

P. 

Paine,  Christopher,  66. 

Paine,  Uriah,  66. 

Parker,  Richard,  91. 

Parsons,  T.,  66. 

Parsons,  T.  E.,  66. 

Peck,  Philip  F.  W.,  66. 

Pearsons,  Daniel  K.,  5. 

Pe-me-sah-quah,  or  Rebekah  Wells, 
45- 

Pemeton,  David,  65. 

Penrose,  James  W.,  32,  48. 

Persons,  Hiram,  90. 

Peterson,  Frederick,  18,  88. 

Pettis,  William  H.,  69. 

Pickering,  Capt.,  34. 

Pierce,  Benjamin  K. ,  24. 

Pierce,  Pres.  Franklin,  24,  44,  60. 

Pierce,  Harriet,  24. 

Pierce,  John  Sullivan,  24. 

Pierce,  Josette  (Lafromboise),  24. 

Pierson,  David,  go. 
Pitman,  Tohn,  82. 
Pix,  William,  90. 
Plymouth  Rock  (steamboat),  85. 
Plympton,  Cornelia  De  Puyster,  82. 
Plympton,  Mrs.  Eliza  Matilda  ( Liv- 
ingston), 36,  81,  82. 
Plympton,  Emily,  36. 
Plympton,  Gilbert  M.,  82. 
Plympton,  Joseph,  35,  36,  48,  70, 

71,  81,  82. 

Plympton,  Joseph  R.,  36. 
Plympton,  Louisa  E.,  82. 
Plympton,  Peter  W.  L.,  36. 
Plympton,  Thomas,  81. 
Poindexter,  Thomas,  88. 
Poinsett,  Joel  R.,  39. 
Polk,  Pres.  James  K.,  44, 
Pope,  Nathaniel,  14,  45. 
Porter,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  5,  71. 
Porter,  Wesley  B.,  91. 
Pothier,  Joseph,  25. 
Potter,  Chandler  E.,  24. 
Prescott,  Eli  S.,  93. 
Prickett,  William,  88. 
Prince  of  Wales,  29. 
Proctor,  Gen.  Henry  A.,  52,  53,  58. 
Prophet  (Indian  chief),  49,  50,  58. 
Pruyne,  Peter,  25. 
Puthuff,   Harriet,  married  John  S. 
Pierce,  24. 


102 


INDEX. 


Puthuff,  William  H.,  24. 

Q- 

Queen  Charlotte  (vessel),  50. 

R. 

Rand,  Robert,  91. 
Rapp,  Thomas,  4. 
Red  Bird  (Indian  chief),  27. 
Red  Jacket  (Indian  chief),  58,  59. 
Redding,  Martin,  91. 
Reed,  Charles  M.,  75. 
Reed,  William,  91. 
Reynolds,  Arnold,  91. 
Reynolds,  Got'.  John,  64. 
Rhea,  James,  88. 
Richards,  James  J.,  4,  93. 
Ritchner,  Antonie,  91. 
Ricketts,  Harriet  (Pierce),  24. 
Ricketts,  James  B.,  24. 
Rickman,  Richard,  88. 
Roberts,  Captain,  52. 
Robinson,  Alexander,  or  Che-che-pin- 
qua  (Indian  chief),  26-8,  31,  33,  41. 
Robinson,  Palmer,  91. 
Ronan,  George,  15,  16,  1 8,  46,  52. 
Rothmon,  Michael,  90. 
Round  Head  (Indian  chief),  61. 
Rowland,  Thomas,  89. 
Russell,  Jacob,  93. 
Russell,  John  B.  F.,  23,  70. 
Russell,  Mrs.  John  R  F.,  85. 
Russell,  —    ,  50. 


Salienne  (Indian  interpreter),  41 

Salisbury,  Stephen  M.,  66. 

Sang,  Peter,  91. 

Sauganash,  or  Billy  Caldwell  (Indian 

chief),  25-8,  31,  33,  60,  61,  68,  93. 

Schien, — ,  58. 

Schindler,  Therese  (Lafromboise),  24. 

Schneidau,  Polycarpus  von,  43. 

Schopfer,  Conrad,  91. 

Scott,  Martin,  30,  48. 

Scott,  Williard,  66. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  3,  24,   31,  34, 

36,  37,  65,  72,  74,  85. 
See,  or  Lee,  50. 
See,  Rev.  William,  25. 
Seybold,  Ferdinand,  25. 
Seymour,  James,  76. 
Seymour,  W.  II.,  76. 


Shabonee,  0rChamblee(Indian  chief), 
27,  28,  31,  33,  58,  60,  61. 

Shapley,  Morgan  L.,  34. 

Shaw  -  nee  -  aw  -  kee,  or  John  Kinzie, 
1 6. 

Shedaker,  Christopher,  65. 

Sheldon  Thompson  (steamboat),  37, 

72,  73,  75- 
Shehan,  John,  90. 
Shepperd,  Peter,  90. 
Sheridan,  Gen.  Philip  H.,  5,  29,  82. 
Sheridan,  Mrs.  Gen.  P.  II.,  14. 
Sherman,  David,  91. 
Sherror,  David,  88. 
Sill,  Henry  G.,  69. 
Simpson,  James  H.,  69. 
Simmons,  John,  88. 
Sitgreaves,  Lorenzo,  69. 
Smallwood,  James,  25. 
Smith,  Ephraim  Kirby,  35,  48. 
Smith,  George,  76. 
Smith,  Jeremiah,  65. 
Smith,  fohn,  88. 
Smith,  John,  88. 
Smith,  John,  91. 
Smith,  Philip,  88. 
Smith,  Robert  P.,  69. 
Smith,  S.  Lisle,  93. 
Smith,  Judge  Theophilus  W.,  39. 
Smith,  William,  65. 

Smith, ,  18. 

Spaulding  &  Merrick  (firm),  43. 

Sprague,  John  T.,  22,  23. 

Stark,  Henry,  90. 

Starr,  James,  88. 

St.  Clair,  Gen.  Anthony,  45. 

Stevens,  John,  66. 

Stevens,  John,  jr.,  66. 

Stevens,  William  M.,  44. 

Stewart,  Hart  L.,  55. 

Stewart,  James,  25. 

St.  Joseph  Mission,  25. 

Stockton,  T.,  90. 

Stone,  Mrs.  Eliza  (Heald),  15. 

Storer,  William  H.,  69. 

Stose,  Clemens,  25. 

Stowell,  Augustine,  66. 

Stowell,  Calvin  M.,  66. 

StoweU,  Walter,  66. 

Strong,  Henry,  67. 

Stuart,  Gilbert,  82. 

Stuart,  John  T.,  23. 

Summers,  John,  91. 

Superior  (steamboat),  21,  37,  58,  72, 

73- 


INDEX. 


103 


Suttonfield,  John,  88. 
Swartwout,  Henry,  69. 
Swearengen,  James  S.,  13. 
Sweet,  Alanson,  66. 
Sweet,  Richard  M.,  66. 
Swing,  Rei',  David,  4. 


T. 

-,  married  William 


Taliafero,  - 

W.  Helm,  16. 
Tappan,  Alexander  H.,  35,  48,  91. 
Taylor,  Augustine  Deodat,  4. 
Taylor,  A.  W.,  65. 
Taylor,  Edmund  D.,  39,  76. 
Taylor,  Pres.  Zachary,  30,  44,  60. 
Tecumseh  (Indian  chief),  28,  58,  61. 
Thompson,  James  L.,  33,  35,  48,  71, 

91- 

Thompson,  Robert,  65. 
Thompson,  Seth,  88. 
Thompson,  William,  90. 
Thompson,  W.  H.,  5. 
Thurston,  Henry,  IO. 
Thurston,  Sarah  M.,  10. 
Tilghman,  Tench,  69. 
Tracy  (schooner),  13. 
Tripp,  William,  91. 
Tuley,  Judge  Murray  F.,  64. 
Turner,  John  B.,  93. 
Turner,  Mrs.  Ann  (Wells),  46. 
Turner,  William,  45. 
Tyler,  Pres.  John,  22. 

U. 

Ury,  Ashburn,  69. 
Usher,  I.  L.,  31. 

V. 

Vallandigham,  Clement  L.,  29,  61-3. 
Van  Buren,  Abram,  30,  48. 
VanBuren,  Pres.  Martin,  30,  40,  94. 
Vance,  Joseph  C.,  69. 
VanHorn,  James  [or  Home],  17,  18, 

53,  88. 
VanVoorhis,  Dr.  Isaac  V.,  15,  16, 

46,  52. 

VanVraukin,  Richard,  91. 
Varnum,  A.  B.,  26,  27. 
Vault,  Thomas  D.,  91. 
Vennor,  Richard,  91. 
Von  Schneidau,  Polycarpus,  43. 


W. 


• 


Wade,  David,  65. 

Wade,  Marvin  R.,  90. 

Waggoner,  Anthony  L.,  88. 

Wales,  Prince  of,  29. 

Walker,  Capt.  Augustus,  37,  72,  76. 

Walker,  Charles  H.,  76. 

Walker,  George  H.,  65. 

Walker,  Rev.  Jesse,  71. 

Walker,  Smith  and  others,  76. 

Walk-in-the- Water  (Indian  chief),  61. 

Walk-in-the- Water  (steamboat),  58, 

84. 

Wall,  William,  69. 
Wallace,  Ensign,  55. 
Walsh,  Michael,  90. 
Walter,  Joel  C.,  5,  32. 

Wa-nan-go-path,  first  wife  of  Capt. 

William  Wells,  45. 
Wa-pe-mong-gah,  or  William  Wayne 

Wells,  46. 
Wapewa  (Indian  chief),  82. 

Ward,  Bernard,  or  Barney,  70. 

Ward,  George  W.,  69. 

Ward,  Henry  A.,  70. 

Ward,  Samuel  D.,  4. 

Wrard, ,  married  Ralph  Adams, 

Washburne,  Elihu  B.,  5. 

Washington,  Pres.  George,  62,  63. 

Watkins,  John,  33. 

Wratkins,  Thomas,  24. 

Watson,  George,  69. 

Wayne,  Gen.  Anthony,  10,  II,  21,  28, 
45,  55,  56,  61. 

Weah,  second  wife  of  Capt.  William 
Wells,  45. 

Webster  Daniel,  55,  77,  84. 

\Vebster,  Fletcher,  77. 

Webster,  Joseph  Dana,  36. 

Weever,  Edward,  90. 

Welch,  John,  25. 

Welch,  Patrick,  91. 

Wellmaker,  John,  65. 

Wells,  Ann,  or  Ar-pez-zah-quah,  45, 
46. 

Wells,  Jane,  46. 

Wells,  Juliana,  46. 

Wells,   Mary,  or  Ah-mah-quaw-zah- 
quuah,  45,  46. 

\Vells,   Rebekah,  married  Capt,  Na- 
than Heald,  14,  16,  18,  55. 

Wells,  Rebekah,  or  Pe-me-sah-quah, 

45,  46-  : 


IO4 


INDEX. 


Wells,  Samuel,   14,   16,   18,  20,  21, 

22,  45. 

Wells,  Samuel  G.,  46. 
Wells,  William,   14,   15,   16,  18,  19, 

20,  21,  22,  45,  46,  50-8. 
Wells,  William  Wayne,  21,  46. 
Wells,  Yelberton  P.,  46. 
Wentworth,   John,  3,   8,   9,   21,   28, 

29,  54,  61,  64,  65,  67,  68,  70,  71, 

76,  77,  79,  80,  83,  85,  86. 
Wentworth,  Moses  J. ,  5. 
Wescott,  Seth,  66. 
Western  World  (steamboat),  85. 
Wheeler,  Dr.  Hiram,  4. 
Wheeler,  Horace  H.,  91. 
Whipple,  J.  H.,  91. 
Whistler,  George  W.,  13. 
Whistler,  John,  10,  13,  14,  87. 
Whistler,  John  H.,  12. 
Whistler,  J.  N.  G.,  13. 
Whistler,  Mrs.  Julia  (Person),  12,  13. 
Whistler,  Louise,  16. 
Whistler,    William,    10,    12,    13,   14, 

!6,  30-3,  37,  48,  49,  55,  74- 
White.  Liberty,  50. 
White  Pigeon  (schooner),  94. 
White  Raccoon  (Indian  chief),  51. 
Whitehorn,  Samuel,  90. 
Whiting,  Daniel  P.,  69. 
Wicoffe,  Peter,  66. 
Wilcox,  D.  Lafayette,  33,  39,  48,  70, 

71,  91. 

Wilkinson,  Gen.  James,  9,  10. 
Wilkinson,  Theophilus  F.  J.,  69. 
William  H.  Harrison  (schooner),  92. 


William  Penn  (steamboat),  37,  72, 

75- 

Williams,  J.  L. ,  46. 
\Villiston,  Robert,  91. 
Wilmette  or  Ouilmette,  Michael,  65. 
Wilson,  Henry  (or  Harry)  T.,  66. 
Winchester,  Gen.  James,  58,  59. 
Winslow  &  Beeson  (firm),  25. 
Wolcott,  Alexander,  25,  26,  45,  85, 

86. 
Wolcott,  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  (Kinzie),  26, 

85. 

Wolcott,  Frederick  Allen,  46. 
Wolcott,  Henry  Clay,  46. 
Wolcott,  Judge  James,  45,  46. 
Wolcott,  Mrs.  James,  46. 
Wolcott,  James  Madison,  46. 
Wolcott,  Mary  Ann,  46. 
Wolcott,  William  Wells,  46. 
Woodbridge,  William,  84. 
Woodworth,  Hiram  P.,  77. 
Wool,  Gen.  John  E.,  16. 
Woolley,  Jeddiah,  65. 
Worth,   Gen.  William  J.,  23. 

Y. 

Yoakum,  Henderson  K.,  69. 
Yoemans,  Benjamin,  90. 
Youngs,  James,  90. 

Z. 

Zarley,  J.  W.,  65. 


FERGUS  PRINTING  COMPANY   CHICAGO 


OLD  SETTLERS  DECEASED  SINCE  MAY  27, 1879. 


BARNES,  JOSEPH  A. 
BEAUBIEX,  MARK. 
BICKERDIKE,  GEORGE. 
CLARKE,  WILLIAM  H. 
CORRIGAN,  WILLIAM. 
CROCKER,  OLIVER  C. 
CUXXIXGHAM,  HEXRY. 
DEWEY,  DENNIS  S. 
DUCK,  CHARLES  H. 
FULLER,  HEXRY. 
FULLERTOX,  ALEX.  N. 
GAGE,  JARED. 
GILBERT,  SAMUEL  H. 
HADDOCK,  EDWARD  H. 
HAMLIN,  ALOXZO. 
HASTINGS,  HIRAM. 
HUNTOON,  GEORGE  M. 
JOHXSON,  LATHROP. 
LARRABEE,  WILLIAM  M. 
McKEE,  DAVID. 
MILLAR,  ROBERT  M. 


MILTIMORE,  IRA. 
MORRIS,  BUCKNER  S. 
MORRISON,  EPHRAIM. 
NICHOLS,  LUTHER. 
OGDEX,  WILLIAM  B. 
OGDEN,  MAHLOX  D. 
PAGE,  PETER. 
PECK,  EBEXEZER. 
PORTER,  HIBBARD. 
REES,  JAMES  H. 
REIS,  JR.,  JOHN  P. 
RUMSEY,  GEORGE  F. 
RYAN,  EDWARD  G. 
SHERMAN,  EZRA  L. 
SMITH,  ELIJAH. 
SPEER,  ISAAC. 
STOW,  WILLIAM  H. 
TUTTLE,  Lucius  G. 
WATERS,  BEXJAMIN. 
WILCOX,  S  EXT  us  X. 
WILLIAMS,  ELI  B. 


t- 


August  24th,  1 88 1. 


^ 


